Methods
Herpetofauna —. Field surveying was conducted from 1–9 June
2022. Opportunistic sampling was performed to find lizards and snakes
under logs, rocks, in leaf litter, on trees, and throughout cave
systems. Non-protected species were caught by hand, while taxa that are
protected and listed as endangered by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (seeResults ) were identified with photo vouchers and observed from a
distance. Photographs were taken with a Nikon 70D DSLR camera with a
Tamron AF 90 mm macro lens. Species identification was done using
morphological criteria from (Rivero 1998). No specimens were collected
but were easily identifiable based on distinguishing morphology from
syntopic taxa.
Bat fauna —. Field surveys for bats were conducted during 1–9
June 2022. Bats were captured in mist nets (6–9 m long by 3 m high,
Avinet 38mm mesh) set along forest corridors near the field station.
Captured bats were identified to species and standard measurements
(i.e., forearm and weight) were taken. Photographs were taken with a
Nikon 70D DSLR camera with a Tamron AF 90 mm macro lens and with a
Cannon G12. No specimens were collected during surveys and all
individuals were released at the site of capture. This study was
conducted following the Departmento de Recursos Naturales de Puerto Rico
(permit no. 2022-IC-034 issued to JASC) and under compliance with
Rutgers IACUC (permit no. 201900087 issued to JASC). Coordinates for
sites of capture were taken with a Garmin GPSMap 65 series to the
nearest 0.00001 degree.