SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Metacommunity analysis of Mexican bats: environmentally mediated structure in an
area of high geographic and environmental complexity
Celia López-González, Steven J. Presley, Abraham Lozano, Richard D. Stevens and
Christopher L. Higgins
Journal of Biogeography
Appendix S2 Vegetation categories and abbreviations used in canonical correlation
analysis. Classification follows CONABIO (1999); description of categories after
INEGI (2007) and CONABIO (1999). Abbreviations (in parentheses) follow category
names.
1
Bare soil (no veg) – areas with no apparent vegetation.
2
Conifer forests (other than Pinus) (con for) – areas dominated by tall trees (20–40 m)
of coniferous species (except pines). In Mexico they occur on high mountain ranges
in temperate, humid climates, between 2400 and 3600 m elevation, the principal
arboreal components being species of Abies and Pseudotsuga.
3
Oak forest (oak for) – relatively open forests, the dominant arboreal component
includes combinations of several species of oak trees (Quercus) of varying heights (435 m). They occur on mountainous areas throughout Mexico, in temperate or warm
climates, from sea level in Yucatan to 3100 m on the Transvolcanic belt, although
95% of them are located between 1200 and 1800 m.
4
Pine forest (pin for) – forested areas (5–25 m high) dominated by species
combinations of trees of the genus Pinus. They occur mostly between 1500 and 3000
m in temperate climates.
5
Mountain cloud forest (mes for) – forested areas (up to 25 m high) of evergreen
mountain forests. They occur in mesic, cool areas of the oceanic versant of the Sierra
Madre Oriental and isolated spots of the Sierra Madre Occidental.
6
Chaparral (chap) – dense shrubland, in dry, temperate environments, sometimes
resulting secondarily from fires on forested or grassland areas. Common in NW Baja
California and restricted areas of the Sierra Madre Oriental, Sierra Madre Occidental,
and Sierra Madre del Sur.
7
Urban areas (towns) – all areas modified for human habitation.
8
Water bodies (water) – freshwater reservoirs, natural and artificial, rivers, and creeks.
9
Cultivated agricultural, forestry, and grazing areas (agric).
10
Mangrove (mangrove) – aquatic and semi aquatic vegetation distributed along both
coasts, dominated by mangrove (Rhizopora).
11
Creosote bush (des shr) – open, low shrubland characteristic of the Chihuahuan
desert, dominated by creosote bush (Larrea) and ocotillo (Fouquieria).
12
Tamaulipan subtropical thorn scrub (tho scr) – subtropical vegetation association
dominated by thorny trees and shrubs of the genus Acacia. Common elements are
also Bursera and Lysiloma.
13
Desert scrub (des scr) – open arid lands dominated by combinations of species of
agave plants (Agave spp.). They occur throughout the Mexican Plateau on hilly and
mountainous terrain.
14
Cactus scrub (des scr2) – open arid lands dominated by combinations of species of
cacti (Cactaceae). It occurs across the Baja California peninsula, NW Mexico, and
Mexican Plateau.
15
Mesquite-huizache shrubland (mes shr) – shrubland vegetation dominated by
mesquite (Prosopis) or huizache (Acacia) in semiarid lands of Northern and Central
Mexico, on relatively flat land with deep soils.
16
Palm forest (palm) – tropical vegetation dominated by palms (Sabal, Brahea,
Orbignya, Scheelea), usually covered with grasses on the basal stratum.
17
Grasslands (nat gras) – vegetation dominated by grasses (Gramineae) in dry, mostly
temperate environments. This category does not include cultivated grasslands for
cattle ranching. Natural grasslands occur mostly along the eastern versant of the
Sierra Madre Occidental. Others are secondary associations resulting from
deforestation in areas originally covered with forest or shrubs, or in abandoned
agricultural land. Mesquite grassland is included in this category.
18
Aquatic vegetation (pop tul) – includes herbaceous vegetation surrounding freshwater
bodies or along coastal plains. Thypha, Calathea, Thalia and Heliconia are dominant
elements.
19
Tropical savanna (savanna) – vegetation dominated by grasses (Gramineae) and
sedges (Cyperaceae), with a few scattered arboreal species (Curatella, Byrsonima).
They occur in tropical areas with deficient drainage.
20
Tropical evergreen forest, evergreen seasonal forest, tall (evg fort) – arboreal
vegetation with a canopy > 30 m tall. It occurs in hot, humid climates with no
significant dry season. No more than 25% of the trees lose their foliage in a given
year.
21
Tropical deciduous forest (low, < 15 m) (dec forl) – arboreal vegetation 4–15 m tall,
typical of hot and semi-dry climates with a marked dry season. Fifty to 75% of trees
lose their foliage in the dry season.
22
Thorn forest (tho for) – arboreal vegetation dominated by trees with thorns (Acacia,
Mimosa), 4–15 m tall. It is most abundant in flat terrain.
23
Tropical deciduous and semideciduos forest (medium) (dec form) – vegetation
characterized by mid-sized trees (15–30 m). Twenty-five to 75% of trees lose their
foliage in a given year. It is common across the Pacific plateau and river basins
penetrating the western mountain ranges.
24
Evergreen seasonal forest medium (evg form) – rain forest vegetation, very similar to
vegetation 20, but shorter (20–30 m).
25
Gallery forests (gal for) – arboreal vegetation distributed along river courses, it occurs
in temperate and dry, as well as warm and humid climates.
26
Sandy soil vegetation (sand veg) – areas dominated by open, short shrubs that grows
on sandy soils. It occurs in the arid lands of Northern Mexico and along coastal
plains.
27
Halophytic and gypsophytic vegetation (hal veg) – open, short shrubland that occurs
in salty or gypsum soils. In Mexico these are small areas with patchy distributions,
mostly throughout the Mexican Plateau, NW Mexico, and Baja California peninsula.
References
INEGI (2007) Datos de uso de suelo y vegetación (vectorial). Instituto Nacional de
Estadística Geografía e Informática (INEGI). Available at:
http://mapserver.inegi.org.mx/geografia/espanol/normatividad/diccio/usue_250.pdf?s=geo
&c=1269 (accessed July 2010).
Appendix S3 Spearman rank correlations (above diagonal) and associated P-values (below
diagonal) for correlations of primary axis of correspondence site scores extracted via
reciprocal averaging for each possible pairwise comparison between species groups.
Significant results (P ≤ 0.05) are in bold.
All species
Gleaning insectivores
Aerial insectivores
Frugivores
Nectarivores
All
species
-< 0.001
< 0.001
< 0.001
< 0.001
Gleaning
insectivores
0.843
-< 0.001
< 0.001
< 0.001
Aerial
insectivores
-0.918
-0.724
-< 0.001
< 0.001
Frugivores
Nectarivores
0.948
0.873
-0.812
-< 0.001
-0.912
-0.752
0.846
-0.830
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