Padrões macroecológicos em redes de interações mutualísticas entre morcegos e frutos na Região Neotropical

Abstract

Mutualistic interactions between bats and fruits can vary according to factors such as climate, geographic location and human disturbance. The influence of these factors may imply changes in the structure of the bat-plant interaction networks, although the way in which these variables determine the structure of the networks is not yet well known. Using a database with 48 networks of interactions between bats and fruits distributed in the Neotropical Region, we evaluated the influence of annual precipitation, average annual temperature, latitude, altitude and human impact on nestedness, modularity and diversity of interactions. Annual precipitation was the main factor associated with the structure of the interaction networks, while other variables were not associated in the organization of the interactions. Specifically, networks were more modular in wetter areas, and more nested and with a greater diversity of interactions in drier areas. Thus, it is possible that changes in rainfall patterns due to climate change may modify the structure of the networks of mutualistic interactions between neotropical bats and fruits, reflecting changes in fruit consumption and seed dispersal with consequences for the maintenance and regeneration of tropical forests.