Frugivory by small vertebrates within a deforested, dry tropical region of Central America

ABSTRACT Small vertebrates were inventoried within three habitat types in a degraded dry forest region of Panama. Animals were classified as frugivorous if they were observed foraging on fruit or if fecal samples contained mostly or exclusively seeds. Overall, we found that eight bat species and 21 bird species consumed fruit. The greatest numbers of birds were observed within live fences and bird species richness was greatest within riparian forests. Bat assemblages were not significantly different between habitats. The implication is that ecosystem services such as seed dispersal may still be functional in this landscape.

RESUMEN Pequenos vertebrados fueron inventariados dentro de tres tipos de habitat de una region de bosque seca y degradado de Panama. Los animales fueron clasificados como frugivoros si fueron observados consumiendo fruta o si las muestras fecales contenian en su mayoria o exclusivamente semillas. En general, encontramos que ocho especies de murcielagos y 21 especies de pajaros consumian fruta. Los mayores numeros de pajaros se observaron dentro de la cerca viva y la mayor variedad de especies de pajaros dentro del bosque ribereno. Las clases de murcielagos no fueron significativamente diferentes entre habitat. La importancia de esto es que los servicios de ecosistemas tales como la dispersion de semillas todavia pueden ser utiles en este escenario.