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Título del libro: Human-Animal Relations In Tourism, Leisure And Development: Perspectives From Latin America
Título del capítulo: Do not disturb: Ecotourism, bat diversity and abundance in caves

Autores UNAM:
VALERIA BERENICE SALINAS RAMOS; RODRIGO ANTONIO MEDELLIN LEGORRETA;
Autores externos:

Idioma:

Año de publicación:
2025
Palabras clave:

Conservation plans; Eco-tourisms; Ecosystem services; Learn+; Me-xico; Microarthropods; Monitoring plans; Population sizes; Species composition; Tourist attractions


Resumen:

Caves are attractive destinations but poorly understood, despite their importance for ecosystem services. Caves depend on the resources provided by species that move in and out of caves, such as bats. Bats spend 50% of their time in caves and their guano provides resources for biologically rich cave communities. Caves are also linked to early humans and are progressively visited as tourist attractions. Cave tourism is increasing as people learn about their beauty and importance. This chapter explores the correlation between bat population sizes, diversity and species composition, with diversity/abundance of guano microarthropods and tourist visitation in three similar caves in Guerrero, Mexico. The results indicate that bats avoid areas and caves used by humans and that uncontrolled human visitation has severe negative effects on bat and arthropod communities. Monitoring and conservation plans reduce negative effects of tourist visitation on bats and cave biodiversity. © CAB International 2025. All rights reserved.


Entidades citadas de la UNAM: