Study Area
Mata de Plátano consists of a 53-hectare, protected nature reserve,
about 7 km southwest of the city of Arecibo. It is located in the
northern karst belt region of Puerto Rico (18.414, -66.729) at 151 m
above sea level (Figure 1). The reserve is part of the largest
unfragmented and species rich forests of Puerto Rico. The sub-tropical
moist forested areas of the reserve consist of a few undisturbed areas
amongst different successional stages of other forests. These areas have
canopies up to ~ 20 m that receive precipitation that
ranges from 100–220 cm per year, with dry months being from
December–March, and wet months from April–November (Ewel and Whitmore
1973). The study area in this checklist includes two cave systems: Cueva
Larvas (18.414° N, -66.727° W) and Cueva de los Culebrones (18.414° N,
66.725° W). Cueva Larvas is a small cave with a wide entrance, while
Cueva de los Culebrones is a 182-meter (m) long hot cave with an
entrance that is 5 x 3 x 8 (width x height x depth, m; Puente-Rolón
1999).