Complementarity and efficiency of bat capture methods in a lowland tropical dry forest of Yucatán, Mexico

The combined use of different methods for surveying bat assemblages has increased over the last fewdecades. The objective of this study was to assess the efficiency of bat inventories by comparing assemblages parameters(species richness, abundance and composition) using the 3 most conventional capture methods (ground-level andsub-canopy mist nets and harp traps), in a lowland tropical dry forest in Yucatán, Mexico. In ground mist nets, onlyphyllostomid species were recorded, principally frugivorous and nectarivorous species, while in harp traps the majoritywere insectivorous species from other families. Our results indicate that for the order Chiroptera the most efficientcombination of capture methods is the simultaneous use of ground mist nets and harp traps. However, an inventory ofPhyllostomidae is reliably achieved with only ground mist nets. Also, a combination of ground and sub-canopy mistnets does not provide an efficient sampling strategy.