Beneath umbrellas: Noteworthy records of tent-roosting bats in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve

Abstract

Neotropical tent-roosting bats can modify approximately 77 species of plants as tents, most inhabiting lowland tropical forests. At least ten of these 22 bat species occur in Guatemala. Many studies have researched their roosting ecology in Central America. Nevertheless, this behavior is still undocumented in this country. Here, we describe for the first time the use of Sabal mauritiiformis and Cryosophila stauracantha as tents occupied by Artibeus jamaicensis and Dermanura sp. in two localities of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala. We report a total density of 7.01 (tents/ km²) for both localities. This study opens the door to continue making progress in understanding bat ecology and behavior in Central America. We expect many architectures to be present in the region and tents in plant species not reported before. We also expect that these bats will play an important role as seed dispersers in the Guatemalan forests.