Bat species (Chiroptera) captured in 49 sampling plots in the upper River Madeira - Rondonia, Brazil

Bats captured with ground-level mist-nets distributed in RAPEALD standard sampling plots distributed through 100 km along the Madeira River margins close to the Santo Antonio hydroelectric dam, Southwestern Brazilian Amazonia, before dam construction. Sampling design included seven sampling modules with seven plots each, totaling 49 sampling plots. The sampling plots were distributed with 0, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, and 5000 m distances from the Madeira River margin in trails perpendicular to the river. Each plot consisted of one trail of 250 m following the contour line of the terrain, in order to minimize the topographic variations and, consequently, the variation of the vegetation inside each plot. We sampled bats in three to five nights for season (dry or rainy) between June 2010 and September 2011, totaling 217 capture nights, and 10416 mnh (1 mist-net hour, mnh, equals one 12-m net open for 1 h). To achieve this total sampling per plot we worked in three to four plots simultaneously in a same night. We erected eight ground level mist-nets (12 × 3 m, 19 mm mesh, Ecotone, Poland) in each plot, which were left open from 18:00 h to 00:00 h, and checked at 15 minutes intervals.