Cel Esbérard

Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro | UFRRJ · Institute of Biology (IB)

Few studies that apply the theory of island biogeography have considered the functional and phylogenetic dimensions of diversity. However, the joint use of the three diversity dimensions, i.e. taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic, can help us to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying ecological and evolutionary processes. Here,...

Activity outside day roosts among insectivorous bat species can vary considerably and has been linked to feeding habits. We aimed to assess time of emergence, duration of activity, and foraging efficiency in a Brazilian population of Molossus molossus. We also investigated if body mass gain was related to foraging amplitude and night length. We ach...

The maned wolf, the largest canid in South America, was originally distributed in areas with open natural vegetation in the Cerrado biome, Chaco and Pampas regions. The dynamics of its distribution are, however, in flux, with populations declining at the southern limit of its distribution, and areas of apparent range expansion in Brazil. Although t...

Reproductive rates in bats are higher when there is a greater availability of food, and when temperatures and rainfall are higher. Along elevational gradients, variation in these factors occurs over a small area, making them ideal natural laboratories for studies that aim to describe reproductive patterns and to identify possible vertical migration...

Aim: This study aims to contribute to the identification of ecological determinants of tropical moist forest montane biodiversity, analysing changes in the structure of bat assemblages along an elevational gradient and testing the role of species traits shaping those assemblages. Location: Mountain ranges in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Methods...

The Amazon region is made up of a mosaic of important habitats scattered throughout the rainforests, which differ in vegetation structure, basal area, primary productivity, biomass and production of flowers and fruits. Consequently, species richness and abundance also vary between these habitat types, in part explaining the high levels of richness...

In recent years there has been an increase in research interest in remnants of Atlantic Forest above 500 m a.s.l., such as in the Serra da Mantiqueira, which is considered a priority area for conservation. The chiropterofauna of the Serra da Mantiqueira remains relatively under-studied, and here we present a list of bat species from the “Reserva Pa...

Although Rio de Janeiro is one of the best sampled states of Brazil for bats, there are still some poorly studied islands on its coast. Hence, we inventoried the bat species of an island on the southwestern coast of Rio de Janeiro, compared five sites sampled within this island, and compared its bat community with seven other sites in the same regi...

We report recapture data for phyllostomid bats in different types of forests, and at different altitudes, obtained through long-term fieldwork in southeastern Brazil. We provide evidence of long-distance movements, with bats moving up to 120 km from mountains to the beach, with an altitudinal variation of 1,237 m. These movements demonstrate the hi...

Variation in body size, behavior, feeding habits and habitat use patterns in medium- and large-sized mammals influence the adequacy of sampling methods to register presence and abundance. Moreover, even if methods are similarly adequate, different methodologies result in distinct cost-efficiency relationships (i.e. some may have reduced costs, be l...

Foraging patterns and diet of different species can change during the year in relation to food resources availability, which can influence abundance and richness of organisms. The greater the abundance of a particular food resource, we expect greater abundance of species that feed on it, and the greater the diversity of food resources, we expect hi...

Carnivores, particularly felids, face threats in many regions of the world. They are a crucial component of biodiversity with a functional role in the top of the food chain. Therefore, they have been the target of surveys and monitoring and ecological studies, most of which are based on footprint identifications, an efficient and low-cost method co...

Myotis izecksohni Moratelli et al., 2011 was recently described from the Myotis nigricans (Schinz, 1821) complex, based on samples from four localities above 700 m in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest of south (Paraná) and southeastern (Rio de Janeiro) Brazil. The species is currently known only from these localities and little is known about its distr...

Many bats use isolated houses and buildings within forested areas as daytime shelters. The large use of buildings suggests that these may be attractive for many bat species to provide protection against predators and are suitable for reproductive and social interactions. We present an overview of published (since 2000) and unpublished data (2010-20...

Os morcegos podem ser monoestrais ou poliestrais e sazonais ou assazonais em relação aos padrões reprodutivos. A estratégia adotada por cada espécie ou população depende do clima regional. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar os dados reprodutivos de Sturnira lilium em amostragem de longo prazo realizado em diversos locais do Estado do Rio de Janei...

The IUCN Red List is a widely accepted system for classifying species’ risk of extinction, based on quantitative criteria. Although IUCN discourages the liberal use of the category “Data Deficient” (DD), most assessed groups have a large number of their species assigned to this category, especially in the Tropics. Therefore, DD species can introduc...

Among the factors that influence the diversity of ectoparasites on bat hosts are the kind of roost and the host’s social behavior. Other factors such as sex, reproductive condition and host size may influence the distribution and abundance of ectoparasites. The aim of the present study was to analyze the variation in Streblidae ectoparasites on th...

Some bat species are able to adapt to urban areas, where they find food and roosts. Despite the high number of parks in Brazilian cities, they did not yet raise the interest of most zoologists, except for some surveys of birds and butterflies. The objectives of the present study were: (i) to inventory the bat species of Quinta da Boa Vista (QBV), a...

We examined Brazilian species of the nectar-feeding bats genus Lonchophylla (Phyllostomidae, Lonchophyllinae) to clarify the identity of Lonchophylla bokermanni and to determine the distribution of this and other species of Lonchophylla in eastern Brazil. As a result, we have found sufficient differences between Cerrado populations (including the t...

Serra do Japi Biological Reserve can be considered as a priority area for conservation, since it represents one of the last areas of continuous forests in the state of São Paulo. The objective of the present study was to inventory the mammal fauna of this reserve, through different non-invasive sampling methods. Sampling was carried out in July/Aug...

Here we report the first records of the vespertilio-nid bat Histiotus montanus in southeastern Brazil. A male was found sheltering under a rock and collected by hand in the Serra do Papagaio State Park, Aiuruoca municipal-ity, state of Minas Gerais. The taxonomic aspects of this species are discussed, and measurements of the sample are provided.

The goal of this study is to provide a list of bats from Visconde de Mauá, municipality of Resende, Rio de Janeiro State, located 1,300 m above sea level. Fieldwork was carried out during seven nights in November 2005, with captures along flyways, feeding sites, and roosts. A total of 13 species was recorded (10 Phyllostomidae, two Vespertilionidae...

Morro de São João is a remnant of Atlantic forest consisting of an isolated fragment of matrix of herbaceous vegetation and wetlands, which has undergone degradation process with the creation of pastures and residential areas. The objective of this study was to present the richness and diversity of bats in that location. Forty-one nights of samplin...

Sampling allows assessing the impact of human activities on mammal communities. It is also possible to assess the accuracy of different sampling methods, especially when the sampling effort is similar. The present study aimed at comparing two mammalian surveys carried out over a three-year interval, in terms of sampling effort, capture success, abu...

RESUMO: A Reserva Biológica da Serra do Japi (REBIO) pode ser considerada área prioritária de preservação, pois representa uma das últimas grandes áreas de floresta contínua do estado de São Paulo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi inventariar a comunidade de mamíferos desta reserva, empregando-se diferentes metodologias não-invasivas de amostragem. As...

Ecological aspects related to parasitism are one of the less studied issues in parasitology research, and the scarce evidence available supports that younger specimens present higher infestation rates. The purpose of this work is to establish if higher infestation rates are observed in nursing females and their young captured inside their roost. Ba...

[Current status of bat marking in Brazil and prospect of a national bat band program] In Brazil, the scientific community has been discussing the creation of a national bat band program, in order to enable studies on natural history and ecology of bats at large spatial and temporal scales. As a basis for the elaboration of the program, this paper a...

In Brazil, there are two published references on the diet of American kestrel falcons, Falco sparverius Linnaeus, 1758, and one is for the Cerrado biome. The only mammal prey so far found in the diet of F. sparverius was the rodent Calomys tener (Winge, 1887). Herein we report on daily hunting activities by American kestrel falcons at a factory in...

A reproductive colony of Phylloderma stenops was established in captivity. The bats were maintained in 1/2" wired screen cages sized 90 × 60 × 80 cm in a room with cycles of 13 hours of light and 11 hours of dark and with temperature and humidity ranging from 27 to 31 °C and 75 to 90% respectively. Bats were fed with a semi-liquid diet composed of...

The biology of Eptesicus brasiliensis (Desmarest 1819) was analyzed using data from 14 locations in Rio de Janeiro State, Southeastern Brazil. Eptesicus brasiliensis was in a variety of habitats, from sea level to higher locations, although never represented in high numbers of captures. Most of the captures occurred over water. Bats were captured b...

Bat samplings in Neotropical region usually contain few insectivorous species. Despite the high richness of insectivorous bats, the use of mist nets results in low efficiency of this guild. The most commonly sampled in southeastern Brazil are Molossus molossus, Molossus rufus and Myotis nigricans but even represented by small number of captures and...

The aim of this study was to perform a list of bat species captured in six lagoons in the Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. The park is located about 180 km eastward of Rio de Janeiro city and covers the municipalities of Macaé, Carapebus and Quissamã. The region is dominated by sand dunes and sand ridges form...

Migration is defined as a seasonal and cyclic population movement observed in all animal classes and studied mainly in vertebrates. A considerable part of the knowledge on migration comes from birds, for which migration is an important aspect of their biology. In the case of bats, females usually migrate larger distances than males in some species....

Bat samplings in Neotropical region usually contain few insectivorous species. Despite the high richness of insectivorous bats, the use of mist nets results in low efficiency of this guild. The most commonly sampled in southeastern Brazil are Molossus molossus, Molossus rufus and Myotis nigricans but even represented by small number of captures and...

The objective of the present study was to investigate activity time of the molossid bats Nyctinomops laticaudatus and Molossus mo/ossus at the same locality, and to test whether activity of one species affects activity of the other. During January 2007-May 2009, we sampled for 15 nights over a stream in southeastern Brazil. Total sampling effort wa...

The aim of this study was to compare in the same site the efficiency of the two most used techniques for sampling ant diversity, Winkler's extractors and pitfalls. We studied communities of leaf litter ants from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, compared richness estimates for genera and species, and built species accumulation curves. These two method...

The mark-recapture method allows analysis on the variation in the abundance of bat ectoparasites at consecutive captures. The objectives of this study were to compare the pattern of Streblidae parasitism between capture and recapture of C. perspicillata; ascertain whether the abundance of Streblidae varied with time after removal of ectoparasites a...

Resumo Na região neotropical, o conhecimento da variação sazonal de colônias de morcegos é reduzido e se mostra fundamental para a escolha dos métodos para a estimativa do total de animais e para o manejo. Foram analisadas as variações mensais no tamanho de quatro colônias, duas de Molossus molossus e duas de Molossus rufus no estado do Rio de Jane...

Rain effects in the capture of bats in a coastal island in southeastern Brazil. Climatic factors are difficult to be analyzed because of their intrinsic unpredictability. For example, rain and wind occur in different intensities and in different nights each year. The objective of this work was to analyze the effects of the rain in the capture succe...

Since the 1990s, attacks by hematophagous bats on humans and domestic animals have been reported both on the continent and on the islands on the southern coast of Rio de Janeiro state. The density of vampire bats was investigated based on percentage of captures during control of Desmodus rotundus samplings and during bat diversity research. In the...

A list of bats species from Reserva Rio das Pedras, Municipality of Mangaratiba, was performed using captures with mist nets, from September 1995 to June 2008, totaling 242424 h.net of capture effort. A total of 30 bat species were recorded in 1321 captures and recaptures. The predominant species were Carolliaperspicillata and Artibeus lituratus. S...

The objective of this work is to present the first listing of bats collected in a fragment in Paraíso do Tobias located in the municipality of Miracema, Northwest of the Rio de Janeiro State. Nine nights of samplings were performed with mist nets and complemented with roosts search. A total of 678 captures and recaptures of 29species were recorded....

Sunset and sunrise regulate the activities of most studied bat species. To verify patterns of foraging activity, 29 bat sampling nights were carried out over a dam in Rio de Janeiro city, which resulted in 363 hours with 730 captures, representing 13 species of insectivorous bats. Molossus molossus constituted the bulk of the captures (79.9%) and w...

Sunset and sunrise regulate the activities of most studied bat species. To verify patterns of foraging activity, 29 bat sampling nights were carried out over a dam in Rio de Janeiro city, which resulted in 363 hours with 730 captures, representing 13 species of insectivorous bats. Molossus molossus constituted the bulk of the captures (79.9%) and w...

Phyllostomus hastatus bat is species broadly distributed over the Neotropical region, which uses as diurnal roosts caves, hollow trees, palm leaves and human buildings. Thirteen diurnal roosts of P. hastatus were analysed from 1990 to 2009 in several localities of Rio de Janeiro State, regarding environment (rural, urban or protected area), type of...

Resumo Esse estudo tem como objetivo reunir informações sobre as espécies de morcegos com registros na região do litoral sul do estado do Rio de Janeiro, com base em listagens de morcegos, disponíveis em publicações, dissertações e teses, e em material depositado em três coleções zoológicas. Cinqüenta e seis espécies de sete famílias foram registra...

Few sites have been well sampled for bats, and samplings in islands are even scarcer. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were: (1) to list the bat species of Ilha da Marambaia; (2) to compare richness, abundance and biomass of bat guilds found there; (3) to analyse abundance patterns of bat species; and (4) to compare richness, abundanc...

Vampyressa pusilla is widespread in Rio de Janeiro State, southeastern Brazil. It occurs in forested areas, and is absent from urban and open habitats. This species occurs mainly in altitudes up to 1,300 m a.s.l. Vampyressa pusilla was captured during the whole night, from 18 minutes before sunset to 759 minutes after sunset. Captures peaked in the...

In Brazil, restingas are under severe human-induced impacts resulting in habitat degradation and loss and remain one of the less frequently studied ecosystems. The main objectives of the present study are to describe the bat community in a restinga in Paulo Cesar Vinha State Park, Guarapari municipality, state of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil...

Host specificity is a characteristic property of parasite-host associations and often is high among those involving obligate or permanent parasites. While many parasites are highly host-specific under natural conditions, specificity may break down in the absence of dispersal barriers. We tested the host specificity of obligate and permanent blood-f...

In the present study, we investigated the prevalence and intensity of Hectopsylla pulex infection in Molossus rufus and Molossus molossus, the parasite's choice of attachment site, and whether this host-parasite system varies with host size. Twenty-four bats were captured by hand from the roof of a house in Southeastern Brazil. M. rufus exhibited a...

Studies on bat richness and diversity in coastal sand dunes (‘restinga’) are still scarce. Therefore, the objectives of thepresent study were to estimate bat richness in the restinga of Praia das Neves (state of Espírito Santo, southeasternBrazil) and to analyze species abundance. Ten sampling nights were carried out in May and July 2008, resulting...

It is expected that rare species will be gradually added to biodiversity surveys over time and that complete inventories will include rare species. The objective in the present work is to test whether the capture sequence of species during a bat survey is related to species abundance. Species with capture rates lower than 0.01x10-3 captures/hour-ne...

We test the hypothesis is that bats using the same area and at the same time would be using similar preys, but they would have different foraging times due to specific differences in biomass. A total of 730 captures was analyzed 13 species of Vespertilionidae and Molossidae bats netted over a small dam in southeastern Brazil from 1993 and 1999. The...

The geographic distribution of Blarinomys breviceps (Winge) includes few localities in forested areas in the Atlantic Rainforest from Bahia state in Brazil up to Misiones province in Argentina. Here we add 14 new records for the species in the region of southeastern Brazil. These findings provided information on morphology, natural history and the...

The Atlantic Forest in the state of Rio de Janeiro is extremely fragmented and reduced in its originalextension. Although there are a great number of studies related to the biome, few lists are available for this region. Thepresent study seeks to get information on the mammals of a remnant forest in Serra da Concórdia, an area from whichno informat...

Abstract: The nectar-feeding bat Lonchophylla bokermanni has restricted distribution, being endemic in areas of Cerrado and Atlantic Forest of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, figuring in the list of endangered species of these two states. Besides being recognized as one of the five bat species endangered in Brazil. The action plan for conserving t...

Em 18 de julho de 2007, um indivíduo de Artibeus lituratus marcado com coleira plástica numerada foi recapturado no Parque Natural Municipal da Serra do Mendanha, município do Rio de Janeiro, 96 dias após ter sido capturado e marcado na Ilha de Itacuruça, no sul do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. A distância linear entre os pontos de marcação e recaptura...

Diaemus youngi is a vampire bat that feeds preferentially on bird blood. This bat is considered as the least frequent among the three hematofagous species throughout its geographical distribution. From 2000 to 2006, surveys for vampire control were carried out in seven localities from the State of Rio de Janeiro where attacks to birds were reported...

É difícil comparar os resultados obtidos em inventários de morcegos, pois os esforços de coleta empregados diferem grandemente, e há obviamente influência nos resultados. O objetivo deste trabalho é comparar três inventários de morcegos realizados em ambientes similares no sudeste do Brasil e comparar o esforço de coleta empregado para aferir a riq...

Artorcarpus heterophyllus fruit is the largest tree fruit, weighing up to 36 kg and was introduced in Brazil during the XVIII century. During a mammalian diversity research developed at Ilha Grande at least five Phyllostomus hastatus bats were observed eating jackfruit. Jackfruit availability is high almost all year long at Ilha Grande and it is po...

A bird survey at Ilha da Marambaia, in the municipality of Mangaratiba, Rio de Janeiro state, Southeastern Brazil, a female of Chloroceryle americana carrying an individual of Placosoma glabella.was captured in a mist net.

Predation on bats by snakes is relatively infrequently reported in the literature, though it may actually not be an uncommon phenomenon, since bat colonies represent a potential concentration of food for many medium-sized or large snakes. Herein we describe four events of bat predation by snakes and present a review of predation records of snakes o...

Apresenta-se o primeiro relato de raiva em morcego da espécie Nyctinomops laticaudatus, na Cidade do Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Foram realizados isolamento e titulação viral em diferentes tecidos, encontrando-se altos títulos no cérebro e glândulas salivares. A ocorrência de raiva em uma espécie pouco freqüente neste estado sugere que a doença pode ser ma...

Based on a large bat sampling we analyzed the reproductive biology of Platyrrhinus lineatus (E. Geoffroy, 1810) in the Atlantic Forest, southeastern Brazil. The bats were captured with mist nets from 1989 and 2005, in 27 of the 41 different localities sampled. The beginning of reproductive season was estimated 30 days before the date of capture of...

Influence of moon cycle in phyllostomid bat capture. The influence of moonlight on the activity patterns of bats has been reported to some species. In general, bats react to the increase of nocturnal illumination by reducing the use of open spaces, by limiting foraging activity or by shortening the activity periods. To determine the influence of mo...

The influence of moonlight on the activity patterns of bats has been reported to some species. In general, bats react to the increase of nocturnal illumination by reducing the use of open spaces, by limiting foraging activity or by shortening the activity periods. To determine the influence of moon cycle on the efficiency of bat netting, captures o...

Data on reproduction of Platyrrhinus lineatus in a long-term sampling study in the state of Rio de Janeiro (Mammalia, Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae). Based on a large bat sampling we analyzed the reproductive biology of Platyrrhinus lineatus (E. Geoffroy, 1810) in the Atlantic Forest, southeastern Brazil. The bats were captured with mist nets from 198...