| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication: | 1996 |
| Authors: | I. L. Rautenbach, Fenton, M. B., Whiting, M. J. |
| Journal: | Can. J. Zool. |
| Volume: | 74 |
| Pagination: | 312-322 |
| Date Published: | 1996 |
| Keywords: | [Chaerephon pumilus] Tadarida pumila, [Mops condylurus] Tadarida condylura, [Mops] Tadarida midas, [Neoromicia nana] Pipistrellus nanus, [Neoromicia] Eptesicus capensis, [Neoromicia] Eptesicus cf. melckorum, [Neoromicia] Eptesicus zuluensis, [Nycticeinops schlieffenii] Nycticeius schliefeni, behaviour, biodiversity, Chiroptera, community ecology, diet, ecology, Emballonuridae, Epomophorus crypturus, Epomophorus wahlbergi, Eptesicus hottentotus, Faunistik, Fledermäuse, food distribution, foraging, guilds, habitat preferences, Insecta, insectivory, Mammalia, Molossidae, Myotis tricolor, Nahrung, Nahrungsspektrum, Nahrungswahl, niche overlap, Nycteridae, Nycteris thebaica, opportunistic feeder, Pipistrellus anchietae, Pipistrellus kuhlii [hesperidus], Pipistrellus rusticus, Pteropodidae, Rhinolophidae, Rhinolophus darlingi, Rhinolophus fumigatus, Rhinolophus simulator, Rhinolophus swinnyi, Rousettus aegyptiacus, Scotophilus borbonicus [viridis], Scotophilus dingani, South Africa, species richness, sympatric, Tadarida aegyptiaca, Taphozous mauritianus, Vegetation, Vespertilionidae |
| Abstract: | Using captures in mist nets and monitoring echolocation calls, we quantified bat distribution and activity and measured insect abundance as numbers of insects attracted to black lights at 15-min intervals. These data were collected simultaneously at pairs of sites in riverine and dry woodland savannah along a transect of ca. 350 km from north to south in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. The sites were situated in the north, central, and south of the park and data were collected in January 1993. Our study involved 18 sites, three pairs each in the areas of the Luvuvhu, Letaba, and Sabie rivers. Half of the sites were in riverine woodland, the others in dry woodland. No statistical association exists between bat captures and either bat activity or insect abundance. Bat activity, however, was related significantly to insect abundance. Although bats were significantly more abundant (captures) in riverine habitats than in dry woodland savannah, comparisons of bat diversity and evenness (rarefaction curves, species abundance curves, and Whittaker plots) showed no differences between these habitats. The data neither demonstrate a decline in bat diversity away from the equator nor suggest specific bat communities associated with riverine habitats. The data do demonstrate the important influence of insects on the activity patterns of insectivorous bats. |