WALLACE RESOURCE LIBRARY Module 04 - Ecosystems: Tropical Forests

1. WALLACE RESOURCE LIBRARY Module 04 - Ecosystems: Tropical Forests D04 – Abundance of bat feeding guilds in the Iwokrama Forest, Guyana

2. What is a Rainforest? • Tropical rainforest ecosystems are characterized by high rainfall and located in the equatorial zone between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. • Mean temperatures are mostly above 18°C for most of the year although cloud forests are generally much cooler.

3. Where do you find the trees? Trees and plants grow in layers called ‘strata’ - there are 4 layers, each with different plants and animals. Emergent Canopy Understory Floor herb layer

4. Iwokrama Forest in Guyana

5. Bat Biology • Bats are mammals – they have hair, give birth to live young, and feed them milk from mammary glands.

6. Bat Biology • Bats are the only mammals that fly – fingers in the hand have been elongated into a wing.

7. Echolocation

8. Importance of bats • Ecosystem services • Seed dispersal • Pollination • Maintain forest dynamics • Regeneration

9. Bats in Iwokrama • One of the highest species diversity in the world >85 species

10. Feeding guilds • Insectivores (invertebrates)

11. Feeding guilds • Frugivore (Fruits)

12. Feeding guilds • Nectarivore (nectar)

13. Feeding guilds • Omnivores (plant products and animals)

14. Feeding guilds • Carnivores (frogs, fish, lizards, even birds)

15. Feeding guilds • Sanguinivore (Blood) – Vampire bats

16. PopulationMonitoring • Bats marked to monitor recaptures • Mist nets used to sample the forest understorey

17. Researchquestions • Which feeding guilds are represented by the greatest numbers of bats in the Iwokrama Forest? • How does the abundance of bat feeding guilds vary between sites across the Iwokrama Forest?

18. Tasksforthisdataset • Research Question 1: • Which feeding guilds are represented by the greatest numbers of bats in the Iwokrama Forest? • Research Question 2: • How does the abundance of bat feeding guilds vary between sites across the Iwokrama Forest?

19. Q1 - Which feeding guilds are represented by the greatest numbers of bats in the Iwokrama Forest? • Frugivorous bats comprise the majority of the bat community in the Iwokrama Forest, with insectivores the next most common feeding guild, followed by nectarivores, omnivores, and finally sanguinivores and carnivores. • This suggests that fruits are a more abundant food source in the Iwokrama forest, and therefore supports higher numbers of animals that feed on that resource.

20. Q2 - How does the abundance of bat feeding guilds vary between sites across the IwokramaForest? • There is large variation in the abundance of bats from each feeding guild between sites. At every site however, frugivores are the most common guild, with insectivores the next most abundant. • The remaining guilds are consistently much less abundant across all sites. • Rock Landing, the never flooded savannah edge forest type, contained the highest number of bats from all feeding guilds. • Canopy Walkway, the never flooded Dakama forest type (dominated by the plant species Dimorphandra conjugata), is home to the lowest numbers of bats in general, however frugivores are still the most abundant. • The remaining three sites which are seasonally flooded and classed as greenheart forest (dominated by Chlorocardium rodiei) revealed broadly similar patterns to one-another. • Forest type may therefore be an important determinant of bat communities in the Iwokrama Forest, and this may be due to some forest types naturally containing greater numbers of fruits for frugivorous bat species.