Elevation drives taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic β-diversity of phyllostomid bats in the Amazon biome

AimWe evaluated the relative importance of geographical and environment variables for taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional beta-diversity of phyllostomid bats along the entire Amazon biome and specifically in the lowlands. LocationAmazon biome. TaxonChiroptera. MethodsWe carried out a bibliographic review and compiled a wide and unprecedented database of 106 phyllostomid bat species at 102 sites throughout the Amazon biome. For all possible pairs of sites in both datasets, we estimated the Jaccard pairwise dissimilarity, that is, beta-diversity, considering its three dimensions-taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional-for its two components-turnover (substitution of species) and differences in species richness. The association between dissimilarity measurements and geographical and environment variables was assessed using multiple regressions on distance matrices (MRM). ResultsWe found that turnover and differences in species richness had similar contributions to the taxonomic beta-diversity. However, for phylogenetic and functional beta-diversity, lineages and functions richness differences contribute slightly more than turnover for total beta-diversity. In the lowlands, species, lineages and functions richness differences were slightly higher than turnover for all diversity dimensions. When accounting for all the sites, elevation was the main predictor of phyllostomid bats' taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional turnover. For lowland sites, ecoregions was the main (but relatively weak) predictor associated with all beta-diversity dimensions. Main conclusionsAnalysis of filtering sites according to elevation revealed that species in the Amazonian lowlands are taxonomically and phylogenetically different from species in the Andes, and present taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional redundancy between assemblages. When accounting for the whole range of distribution of bats, results showed the predominant effect of elevation over other geographical and environmental predictors. This indicates that the diversity of good dispersers such as bats is more affected by specialisation along environment and climatic gradients than by geographical barriers throughout the Amazon biome.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the relative importance of geographical and environmental variables for the diversity of phyllostomid bats in the Amazon biome. The results showed that elevation was the main predictor for the diversity of taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional characteristics of phyllostomid bats. The study also found differences in species characteristics between lowland and highland areas, indicating the influence of environmental gradients on bat diversity.