Ten years of Chiroptera Neotropical: accomplishments and future directions

Oprea, MonikBrito, DanielA.R. Mello, MarcoM.S. Aguiar, Ludmilla

Despite their great ecological and economical importance, there are only few specialized scientific publications dedicated to bats. Chiroptera Neotropical is the only one dedicated to the Neotropical bat fauna. The objective of the present study is to provide a balance of the contribution of Chiroptera Neotropical to bat research over the last 10 years, by analyzing its accomplishments and suggesting ways for its improvement. We surveyed all 52 contributions published in Chiroptera Neotropical from 1995 to 2005. The great majority of articles were written by authors based in South American institutions and most of them in Brazil. Most studies were species inventories, and most of the fieldwork researches were carried out in the Atlantic Forest. Chiroptera Neotropical is already an important medium for disseminating scientific knowledge on Neotropical bats. However, it is time for the journal to grow and to increase its importance in the international scientific community.