Trait-mediated filtering predicts phyllostomid bat responses to habitat disturbance in the Orinoco Llanos

Which functional traits allow a bat species to survive habitat disturbance? Empirical evidence regarding this question remains limited for many tropical regions despite their importance for conservation. Here, we used body mass, wing morphology, trophic level, and diet to identify which traits make phyllostomid bat species more vulnerable to human impacts in the Colombian Orinoco Llanos. Bats were sampled using mist nets in riparian forests, unflooded forests, flooded savannahs, and conventional rice crops on traditional farmlands with high-intensity agriculture and in private reserves with greater ecosystem protection. We tested the associations between species traits and landscape-structure variables (habitat cover and type, number of habitat patches, shortest distance to water) using RLQ and fourth-corner analyses, accounting for both spatial and phylogenetic autocorrelation. Trophic level and diet were the most important traits linked to disturbance sensitivity. Our results indicated that rice crop cover, savannah patches, and altered unflooded forest act as a filter, benefiting disturbance-adapted frugivorous genera in farmlands (e.g., Artibeus spp., Carollia spp., Platyrrhinus spp., Uroderma spp.). Conversely, animalivorous species were strongly associated with savannah cover and riparian forests within reserves (e.g., Lampronycteris brachyotis, Lophostoma brasiliense, Micronycteris minuta, Trachops cirrhosus). Encouraging the creation of more wildlife-friendly landscapes through payments for ecosystem services across the Colombian Llanos will ensure the long-term persistence of disturbance-sensitive species and sustain a complete set of ecological functions and ecosystem services that these bats provide.