Efecto de la frecuencia de fuego sobre las redes de dispersión de semillas mediadas por murciélagos en un bosque seco tropical

Abstract

Fire is a major driver of biodiversity change, exerting both positive and negative effects on ecosystem composition, structure, and function. Although Colombian tropical dry forests have a long history of fire disturbance, its ecological consequences remain poorly understood. Here, we evaluated the effects of fire frequency changes over the structure (connectance, degree of specialization, modularity, and nestedness). Our results show that higher fire frequencies reduced modularity and specialization, while increasing connectance and nestedness. These structural shifts appear to be driven by the proliferation of super-generalist species, particularly Carollia perspicillata and Piper marginatum, which assumed central roles in mutualistic networks as connections from other species declined. Such dynamics are relevant because they contribute to the maintenance of key ecosystem services, even under conditions of recurrent disturbance, and provide insights into the formulation of restoration strategies. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the effects of fire frequency on bat-mediated seed dispersal networks, offering novel perspectives on species resilience and the functioning of highly disturbed ecosystems such as the Colombian tropical dry forest.