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Species diversity of bats along an altitudinal gradient on Mount Mulanje, southern Malawi

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2012

Michael Curran ,
Mirjam Kopp ,
Jan Beck  and
Jakob Fahr
Michael Curran*
Affiliation:
University of Basel, Department of Environmental Sciences, Biogeography, St. Johanns-Vorstadt 10, 4056 Basel, Switzerland Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Institute of Environmental Engineering, Wolfgang-Pauli-Str. 15, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
Mirjam Kopp
Affiliation:
University of Basel, Department of Environmental Sciences, Biogeography, St. Johanns-Vorstadt 10, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
Jan Beck
Affiliation:
University of Basel, Department of Environmental Sciences, Biogeography, St. Johanns-Vorstadt 10, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
Jakob Fahr
Affiliation:
University of Ulm, Institute of Experimental Ecology, Albert-Einstein Allee 11, 89069 Ulm, Germany University of Braunschweig, Zoological Institute, Division of Evolutionary Biology, Mendelssohnstr. 4, D-38106 Braunschweig, Germany
*
1Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract:

A climate model, based on effects of water availability and temperature, was recently proposed to explain global variation in bat species richness along altitudinal gradients. Yet such studies are sparse in the tropics and near-absent in Africa. Here we present results from an altitudinal study of bat diversity from Mount Mulanje, Malawi. Using ground nets, canopy nets and harp traps, we sampled eight sites across three habitat zones from 630 m to 2010 m asl. We assessed the influence of climatic, geographic and biotic variables on measures of estimated species richness, Fisher's α, and an unbiased index of compositional turnover. We recorded 723 individuals and 30 species along the gradient, revealing a ‘low plateau’ pattern in estimated species richness, peaking at 1220 m, which is congruent with the global climate model. Measures of local habitat structure significantly explained a large degree of variation in species richness and compositional turnover between sites. Fisher's α was further significantly correlated to mean annual relative humidity, suggesting a background climatic influence.

Keywords

AfricaaltitudebiodiversitybatsChiropteraelevationenvironmental gradientshabitat structurespecies richness
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 28 , Issue 3 , May 2012 , pp. 243 - 253
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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