Effects of land‐use change on functional and taxonomic diversity of Neotropical bats

Human land‐use changes are particularly extensive in tropical regions, representing one of the greatest threats to terrestrial biodiversity and a key research topic in conservation. However, studies considering the effects of different types of anthropogenic disturbance on the functional dimension of biodiversity in human‐modified landscapes are rare. Here, we obtained data through an extensive review of peer‐reviewed articles and compared 30 Neotropical bat assemblages in well‐preserved primary forest and four different human‐disturbed habitats in terms of their functional and taxonomic diversity. We found that disturbed habitats that are structurally less similar to primary forest (pasture, cropland, and early‐stage secondary forest) were characterized by a lower functional and taxonomic diversity, as well as community‐level functional uniqueness. These habitats generally retained fewer species that perform different ecological functions compared to higher‐quality landscape matrices, such as agroforestry. According to functional trait composition, different bat ensembles respond differently to landscape change, negatively affecting mainly gleaning insectivorous bats in pasture, narrow‐range species in cropland, and heavier animalivorous bats in secondary forest. Although our results highlight the importance of higher‐quality matrix habitats to support elevated functional and taxonomic bat diversity, the conservation of bat species that perform different ecological functions in the mosaic of human‐modified habitats also depends on the irreplaceable conservation value of well‐preserved primary forests. Our study based on a pooled analysis of individual studies provides novel insights into the effects of different human‐modified habitats on Neotropical bat assemblages.