Do current vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) population control practices pose a threat to Dekeyser’s nectar bat’s (Lonchophylla dekeyseri) long-term persistence in the cerrado?
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Data
2010-12
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Editor
Museum and Institute of Zoology
Resumo
The Cerrado is rapidly losing space to agriculture, pastures and urbanization. Current management practices to control rabies outbreaks through the eradication of vampire bat populations may put other bat species in peril. Our objective is to evaluate if the current vampire bat population control practices could pose a threat to Lonchophylla dekeyseri’s persistence, an endemic bat of the Cerrado. We used the VORTEX program to model different vampire bat management scenarios, causing low (25%), medium (50%) or high (75%) incidental mortality to L. dekeyseri populations. Inbreeding depression has been identified as a threat to the species, therefore we also modeled scenarios evaluating such effects. Results show that current vampire bat management practices have serious impacts on populations of L. dekeyseri. In all cases marked declines in population sizes were observed (even when there was
no decline in survival probabilities). For medium and high incidental mortality management scenarios, we also observed decreases in survival probability and in genetic diversity. In those scenarios evaluating vampire bat management and inbreeding depression together, the models suggest that such interaction results in more pronounced declines. Habitat loss and fragmentation in the Cerrado
are severe threats and have already negatively impacted L. dekeyseri. Unfortunately, if current population control practices dealing with vampire bats are not changed, inappropriate rabies
management may be the coup de grace to the long-term persistence of thisspecies.
Descrição
Palavras-chave
Cerrado, Desmodus, Lonchophylla, Population viability analysis, Rabies, Roost
Citação
AGUIAR, Ludmilla M. S.; BRITO, Daniel; MACHADO, Ricardo B. Do current vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) population control practices pose a threat to Dekeyser’s nectar bat’s (Lonchophylla dekeyseri) long-term persistence in the cerrado? Acta Chiropterologica, Varsóvia, v. 12, n. 2 p. 275-282, Dec. 2010.