Modelagem e análise geográfica integrada das variáveis ambientais e socioeconomicas para o mapeamento da ocorrência de morcegos em Belo Horizonte

Abstract

The urban development process has consequences, one of which concerns to the presence of wild animals in the urban environment. Bats (Order Chiroptera), among other animals become adapted to live in cities. Just like in their natural habitat, the bats also have important environmental benefits to the city such as seed dispersal, pollination and insect controlling. However, bats can also retain and transmit zoonotic diseases. Thus, investigating the relationship between these animals and the urban environment is part of urban ecology, which is necessary in order to produce data that can assist management plans and, consequently, establish a harmonious relationship between human beings and animals. The spatial behavior of the urban bats remains not well explored. Questions such as the living area and what promotes the concentration or dispersion in an urban environment remais an open field for investigation. In this context, this study addresses a GIS-based framework for mapping probability of bat occurrences in Belo Horizonte. The model employed a sort of environmental and socio-economic variables in a spatial multi-criteria decision making. The map of probability produced reached up to 80% accuracy to represent clusters of medium and high concentration of bats. Between the eight variables analysed, those with the greatest influence to explain concentration and distribution are average income, population density and vegetation cover and land use. Findings show the solution for preparing the map is effective to support actions to control and surveillance of bats in the city. The model is flexible to be applied for other species and geographically transferable.