Introduction: Background and Research Aims:

Assessing biodiversity recovery is key to determine whether the objectives of habitat restoration for conservation are met. Many restoration initiatives use cross-sectional comparisons of wildlife communities to infer restoration impact instead of longitudinal assessments from a baseline state. Using an indicator of biodiversity in the neotropics— bats— we demonstrate how assessing community diversity and composition in an area targeted for restoration prior to implementation, and when compared to surrounding intact forest, provides the groundwork to track changes in the community post-restoration.

Methods

We assessed bat communities by 1) using mist-net surveys to identify species in the family Phyllostomidae (leaf-nosed bats), and 2) conducting acoustic surveys to identify non-phyllostomid species (aerial insectivores).

Results

For both groups, we found that areas targeted for restoration had similar diversity as the surrounding forest, but the two habitat types differed in community composition. Phyllostomids were captured at higher rates in forest, but aerial insectivores were detected at higher rates in restoration habitat.

Conclusion

Our baseline assessment revealed unexpected diversity in areas targeted for restoration. The presence of all trophic groups in restoration habitat suggests that bats provide key ecosystem services in the restoration process, such as through seed dispersal, pollination and insect pest control.

Implications for Conservation: Conducting a baseline survey of bats in areas targeted for restoration demonstrated that the community was not species poor at the baseline and was different from the surrounding forest, allowing us to better track restoration success and the effects of different restoration treatments.

中文翻译：

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再生地点的意外多样性强调了基线的重要性：哥斯达黎加奥萨半岛蝙蝠（手足目）的案例研究

简介：背景和研究目的：

评估生物多样性恢复是确定是否达到保护栖息地恢复目标的关键。许多恢复计划使用野生动物社区的横截面比较来推断恢复影响，而不是从基线状态进行纵向评估。使用新热带地区的生物多样性指标——蝙蝠——我们展示了如何在实施前评估目标恢复区域的群落多样性和组成，并与周围的完整森林进行比较，为跟踪恢复后群落的变化奠定基础。

方法

我们通过以下方式评估了蝙蝠群落：1) 使用雾网调查来识别叶鼻蝙蝠科 (叶鼻蝙蝠) 中的物种，以及 2) 进行声学调查以识别非叶嘴类物种（空中食虫动物）。

结果

对于这两个群体，我们发现恢复目标区域与周围森林的多样性相似，但两种栖息地类型的群落组成不同。在森林中以较高的比率捕获叶状昆虫，但在恢复栖息地中以较高的比率检测到空中食虫动物。

结论

我们的基线评估揭示了恢复目标区域的意外多样性。恢复栖息地中所有营养群体的存在表明，蝙蝠在恢复过程中提供了关键的生态系统服务，例如通过种子传播、授粉和害虫控制。

对保护的影响：对目标恢复区域的蝙蝠进行基线调查表明，该社区在基线时物种并不贫乏，并且与周围的森林不同，使我们能够更好地跟踪恢复成功和不同恢复处理的效果。