Flight morphology, diet and composition of a bat assemblage (Mammalia: Chiroptera) in the Rio Doce State Park, South-east Brazil

da Cunha Tavares, Valéria

Functional morphology is a valuable approach to understand the organism performance and fitness. This study examines some morphological features of the wings and tail membranes of phyllostomid bats in order to analyze the relationship between flight morphology and feeding preferences. Data is also presented on community structure and diversity, and the responses of some bat species to environmental disturbance. I studied the bat community in the Rio Doce State Park, the largest protected area of Atlantic Forest in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. Bats were sampled through capture with mist- nets and by searching for diurnal roosts.