@article {15, title = {Assessing species traits and landscape relationships of the mammalian carnivore community in a neotropical biological corridor}, journal = {Biodiversity and Conservation}, volume = {25}, year = {2016}, month = {Jan-04-2016}, pages = {739 - 752}, abstract = {

Mammalian carnivores play an important role in regulating food webs and ecosystems. While many carnivore populations are facing various threats such as habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and illegal trade, others have adapted to human-dominated landscapes. Information about Neotropical carnivore communities in particular is limited, especially in disturbed landscapes. We conducted a camera trap survey at 38 sites across the San Juan\–La Selva Biological Corridor in Costa Rica to assess occupancy and detection probabilities of the carnivore community. We developed hypotheses within a likelihood-based framework in order to determine the landscape features and species traits (diet and size) that influenced their occupancy. We detected nine of the 13 native carnivores predicted to occur in the corridor. When modeled separately, each species responded to land cover changes differently, suggesting no strong community-wide predictors of occupancy. We then modeled three separate guilds within the carnivore community: omnivorous mesopredators, obligate carnivorous mesopredators, and apex predators. These community guild models revealed a negative relationship between omnivorous mesopredators and increasing forest and tree plantation cover, suggesting omnivores utilize forest fragments and edge habitats in agricultural landscapes. Obligate carnivorous mesopredator models did not reveal any strong habitat relationships, but landscape effects tended to contradict our a priori predictions. Apex predators were positively associated with increasing forest and tree plantation cover, protected areas, and increasing distances to villages. Alarmingly, apex predators and obligate carnivorous mesopredators were generally rare within the biological corridor. A lack of top-down control alone might result in heightened occupancy for all mesopredators, but because the community is dominated by omnivorous species, bottom-up release from human-induced land cover changes and resource provision may better explain their high occupancy.

}, keywords = {Biological corridor, camera traps, Carnivores, Mesopredators, Occupancy models, Omnivores}, issn = {0960-3115}, doi = {10.1007/s10531-016-1089-7}, url = {http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10531-016-1089-7}, author = {Pardo Vargas, Lain E. and Cove, Michael V. and Spinola, R. Manuel and de la Cruz, Juan Camilo and Sa{\'e}nz, Joel C.} } @article {14, title = {Factors influencing the occurrence of the Endangered Baird{\textquoteright}s tapir Tapirus bairdii : potential flagship species for a Costa Rican biological corridor}, journal = {Oryx}, volume = {48}, year = {2014}, month = {Jan-07-2014}, pages = {402 - 409}, abstract = {

Baird\’s tapir Tapirus bairdii is categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and is considered rare and locally extirpated from most of its historic range in Costa Rica. We conducted camera-trap and track surveys at 38 forested sites in and around the San Juan\–La Selva Biological Corridor in the Northern Zone of Costa Rica. Cameras were set along established game trails and natural funnels and operated for 14\–38 days per site. Additionally, we documented tapir tracks at many sites. We used survey photographs and track presence to create detection histories to estimate the habitat and survey-specific variables that influence the probability of detection and the probability of occurrence of Baird\’s tapir. The two major protected areas within and adjacent to the corridor were most positively associated with tapir occurrence, and forest cover and native and exotic tree plantations were also positively associated with tapirs\’ use of sites. Although the Baird\’s tapir is rare, our findings suggest that it is more resilient and better able to use available habitat in the fragmented corridor than previously thought. This is most likely a consequence of increased forest cover from reforestation and tree plantations and limited hunting pressure. Given its charismatic nature we recommend that Baird\’s tapir could be used as a flagship species for the San Juan\–La Selva Biological Corridor, to raise local awareness about conservation and increase economic growth from ecotourism.

}, issn = {0030-6053}, doi = {10.1017/S0030605313000070}, url = {http://www.journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0030605313000070https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0030605313000070}, author = {Cove, Michael V. and Pardo Vargas, Lain E. and de la Cruz, Juan Camilo and Spinola, R. Manuel and Jackson, Victoria L. and Sa{\'e}nz, Joel C. and Chassot, Olivier} } @conference {9, title = {Neoichnology of Costa Rican bats: track morphology and trackmaking ability of phyllostomid and emballonurid bats}, booktitle = {2014 Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America}, year = {2014}, month = {10/2014}, address = {Vancouver, British Columbia}, abstract = {

Of the four groups of animals to have developed powered flight, only bats are unknown from the trace fossil record. In comparison, pterosaurs, flying quadrupeds like bats, are recognized from at least three valid ichnogenera that are known from every continent except Antarctica. With a body fossil record of over 52 million years combined with the rapid colonization of most continents, bats are ideal candidates to have produced trace fossils. Modern bats display a wide range of terrestrial abilities, from aerial insectivores, to those that forage for insects and other arthropods on the ground, to the New Zealand short-tailed bat and common vampire bat that possess a suite of terrestrial behaviors including running and hopping. We present the first broad survey of trackmaking ability in an ecologically diverse family of Neotropical bats, the Phyllostomidae, as well as representatives from another New World family, the Emballonuridae. In late June and early July 2014, trackmaking trials were conducted with members of the five Costa Rican subfamilies of Phyllostomidae: Carollia perspicillata and C. sowelli (Carollinae), Lonchorhina aurita and Micronycteris microtus (Phyllostominae), Demanura phaeotis and Artibeus lituratus (Stenodermatinae), Desmodus rotundus (Desmodontinae), and Hylonycteris underwoodi (Glossophaginae), and the emballonurid Saccopteryx bilineata. These bats represent different ecological niches and hindlimb morphologies resulting in differing terrestrial behaviors and track morphology. Most bats were limited to an uncoordinated terrestrial gait that we have termed the breaststrokelike crawl, while a few, notably Desmodus, proved terrestrially adept. Tracks produced corresponded primarily to the forelimbs, while hindlimb tracks were much less likely to be preserved. Various track morphologies produced include linear and arcuate tracks corresponding to digit one of the manus, and isolated and clustered pedal traces featuring four or five subparallel digit impressions. Only Desmodus produced definitive trackways. This research will better illuminate what bat tracks and trackways may look like in the rock record, and future research will address how trackways, such as those produced by Desmodus, compare to pterosaur trackways.

}, keywords = {Reserva Ecol{\'o}gica Bijagual}, author = {Jones, M. T. and Hasiotis, S. T.} } @conference {8, title = {Neoichnology and Tracemaking Behavior of Desmodus rotundus }, booktitle = {44th Annual Symposium of the North American Society for Bat Research}, year = {2014}, month = {10/2014}, address = {Albany, New York}, abstract = {

Trace fossils are useful tools for interpreting the behavior of extinct and ancient organisms as well as providing clues to the potential distribution and occurrence of organisms in areas where body fossils are absent. Tracks and trackways of flying organisms are present in the fossil record, including insects, birds, and pterosaurs; bat trace fossils, however, are not known. The absence of bat trace fossils may be due to their small size, unfavorable preservation conditions of the environment, or misidentification. The lack of traces is likely not due to an aversion to terrestrial locomotion, as modern bats display a range of terrestrial abilities from strictly aerial insectivores to the unique terrestrial behaviors of the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) and the New Zealand short-tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculata). We present the first study of the trackway-making ability of the common vampire bat, and compare it to the terrestrially inept genus Carollia. Four Desmodus rotundus were captured at Reserva Ecol\ógica Bijagual de Sarapiqu\í in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica during early summer 2014. A custom-built Plexiglas\® and PVC enclosure allowed the bats to walk across sediment but prevented them from flying. The resulting trackmaking behaviors were video recorded and trackways were cast with plaster and analyzed. All Desmodus exhibited a more typical quadrupedal gait than did Carollia. Desmodus, in contrast, did not display the breaststrokelike crawl performed by the less terrestrially-adept species. Trackways produced by Desmodus are characterized by deep manus impressions and scattered, more infrequent pedal tracks.

}, keywords = {Reserva Ecol{\'o}gica Bijagual}, author = {Jones, Matthew and Hasiotis, Stephen} } @article {5, title = {Observations of cavity-roosting behavior in Costa Rican Lophostoma brasiliense (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae)}, journal = {Mammalian Biology}, volume = {73}, year = {2008}, chapter = {230-232}, keywords = {Costa Rica, Lophostoma, Phyllostomidae, Reserva Ecol{\'o}gica Bijagual, roosting behavior, termite nest}, author = {York, Heather A. and Foster, Paul F. and Jones, M. F. and Schwarz, Walter H.} } @article {2, title = {Stable-isotope Analysis of Diets of Short-tailed Fruit Bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae: Carollia )}, journal = {Journal of Mammalogy}, volume = {90}, year = {2009}, month = {Mar-12-2010}, pages = {1469 - 1477}, abstract = {

The coexistence of multiple species of short-tailed fruit bats (Phyllostomidae: Carollia) is common throughout the range of the genus. Previous studies of fecal and stomach contents have documented differences in dietary breadth and in habitat use as mechanisms by which these species may partition dietary niches. By comparing values of \ð15N and \δ13C across species of Carollia from 17 sites in Central and South America, we show that co-occurring Carollia frequently differ in dietary breadth, foraging habitats, and level of insectivory. Values of \δ15N, which tended to be enriched in C. castanea, depleted in C. perspicillata, and intermediate in C. brevicauda and C. sowelli, indicate trophic stratification. Values of \δ13C followed the opposite trend, tending to be enriched in C. perspicillata and depleted in C. castanea, suggesting interspecific differences in breadth of the foraging area. Isotopic comparisons among Carollia, other bat species, and potential food items at 5 of our sites illustrate that populations of Carollia tend to be trophically intermediate between strictly phytophagous and strictly insectivorous organisms, and, contrary to the paucity of insect remains found in fecal samples, indicate that the consumption of insects by Carollia is more common and potentially more important than previously was thought.

}, keywords = {Carollia, feces, frugivory, habitat use, insectivory, niche partitioning, Reserva Ecol{\'o}gica Bijagual, stable isotopes, trophic level}, issn = {0022-2372}, doi = {10.1644/08-MAMM-A-382R.1}, author = {York, Heather A and Billings, Sharon A} }