INTRODUCTION Bats spend most of their lives in their roost; therefore, these sites must provide favorable conditions to fulfill basic functions such as mating, breeding, feeding and protection against predators, climate conditions and parasites (Kunz and Lumsden, 2003; Rodríguez-Herrera et al., 2007). Roosting ecology in bats is very diverse and var- ies depending on the species. There are many types of roosts for these mammals with two general classifications: sheltered and external roosts (Kunz, 1982). The sheltered roost offers some ad- vantages, such as being more permanent and stable in microclimate conditions and has a lower risk of predation (i.e., caves, mines, buildings and tree hollows) (Kunz, 1982). The advantages of external roosts are abundance and ubiquity, which tend to be more prevalent near the equator (i.e., foliage and tents) (Kunz, 1982; Rodríguez-Herrera et al., 2007). There are approximately 22 bat species that mod- ify leaves as their roost, 17 of which are in the Neotropics (Rodríguez-Herrera et al., 2007). Tent- roosting bats can use about 77 Neotropical plants, and in order to build their roost, bats use their teeth, feet, and thumbs to cut and fold the leaves to create the ‘tent’ (Rodríguez-Herrera et al., 2007). Tent-roost use by bats depends on complex inter- actions between morphological, physiological and behavioral adaptations of bats and the characteris- tics of plant species that are suitable to these mam- mals (Chaverri et al., 2007; Rodríguez-Herrera et al., 2008). The selection of a specific roost is de- pendent on many factors, including bat metabolic needs, energetic costs associated with its size, social organization, and environmental factors such as rain, wind, predation risk, and the abundance and availability of roosting sites (Stoner, 2000; Kunz and Lumsden, 2003). Most of the research about tent-roosting bats is focused on the bat’s perspective, i.e. aspects about Acta Chiropterologica, 20(1): 139–145, 2018 PL ISSN 1508-1109 © Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS doi: 10.3161/15081109ACC2018.20.1.010 Ecological networks between tent-roosting bats (Phyllostomidae: Stenodermatinae) and the plants used in a Neotropical rainforest BERNAL RODRÍGUEZ-HERRERA 1 , MELISSA E. RODRÍGUEZ 1 , and MAURICIO FERNÁNDEZ OTÁROLA 1, 2 1 Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro de Montes de Oca 11501-2060, San José, Costa Rica 2 Corresponding author: E-mail: mauricio.fernandez@ucr.ac.cr Roost ecology in bats is a complex interaction of behavioral, morphological and physiological adaptations, thus, there are many factors involved in roost selection by bat species. Approximately 22 species of bats are able to modify leaves to establish their roost, 17 of which are in the Neotropics. Although there are many studies of tent-roosting bats, this is the first describing the structure of the interaction between bats and the plants they are using as roosts. We describe a potential antagonistic network between these bats and the plants used for tent construction in La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica. We calculated descriptors of the network such as the number of bats and plants interacting, as well as the number of pairwise interactions based on published records or direct observations. We also tested for connectance and nestedness in the network structure. We propose a name for this non-trophic antagonistic interaction, which is a structural antagonism, where bats damage the leaves, reducing their lifespan and the plant fitness. In La Selva the network is composed of eight bats and 45 plant species reported by 60 pairwise interactions. Only 2.16% of vascular plant species in La Selva are being modified as tents. The network had low connectance (0.167) and no significant nestedness or modularity. Considering the species richness of plants in La Selva, there are few links between tent-roosting bats and plants species, which shows the specialization of these interactions and the high dependence of most of these bats on a few plant species, even if they are very specific and temporary resources. Key words: animal-plant interactions, antagonistic networks, Costa Rica, La Selva Biological Station, structural antagonism, tent-roosting bats