Ecosystem services provided by bats
01 Mar 2011-Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (Wiley/Blackwell (10.1111))-Vol. 1223, Iss: 1, pp 1-38
TL;DR: Information on the ecological and economic value of ecosystem services provided by bats can be used to inform decisions regarding where and when to protect or restore bat populations and associated habitats, as well as to improve public perception of bats.
Abstract: Ecosystem services are the benefits obtained from the environment that increase human well-being. Economic valuation is conducted by measuring the human welfare gains or losses that result from changes in the provision of ecosystem services. Bats have long been postulated to play important roles in arthropod suppression, seed dispersal, and pollination; however, only recently have these ecosystem services begun to be thoroughly evaluated. Here, we review the available literature on the ecological and economic impact of ecosystem services provided by bats. We describe dietary preferences, foraging behaviors, adaptations, and phylogenetic histories of insectivorous, frugivorous, and nectarivorous bats worldwide in the context of their respective ecosystem services. For each trophic ensemble, we discuss the consequences of these ecological interactions on both natural and agricultural systems. Throughout this review, we highlight the research needed to fully determine the ecosystem services in question. Finally, we provide a comprehensive overview of economic valuation of ecosystem services. Unfortunately, few studies estimating the economic value of ecosystem services provided by bats have been conducted to date; however, we outline a framework that could be used in future studies to more fully address this question. Consumptive goods provided by bats, such as food and guano, are often exchanged in markets where the market price indicates an economic value. Nonmarket valuation methods can be used to estimate the economic value of nonconsumptive services, including inputs to agricultural production and recreational activities. Information on the ecological and economic value of ecosystem services provided by bats can be used to inform decisions regarding where and when to protect or restore bat populations and associated habitats, as well as to improve public perception of bats.
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Dissertation•
03 Apr 2014
TL;DR: The importance of the quantification of final ecosystem services such as fruit productivity and crop yield to improve the valuation of ecosystem services provided by tropical birds and bats is demonstrated.
Abstract: Ecosystem services such as the suppression of pest insects may increase productivity of agroforestry systems and thereby increase well-being of smallholders. Tropical birds and bats are effective predators of arthropods and move within landscapes, representing mobile links that connect habitats in space and time. But information on the effects of birds and bats on multitrophic interactions and agricultural productivity in different types of agroforestry systems is limited. Similarly, the relative importance of local agroforestry management and the tropical landscape matrix for ecosystem services mediated by birds has not been investigated so far. Last but not least, a better understanding of dynamic tropical agroforestry landscapes and the effects of habitat conversion and land use intensification on important functional groups as well as for endangered species is urgently needed.
We conducted a predator exclusion experiment in which we manipulated the access of birds and bats on 15 different cacao agroforestry sites to quantify their effects on diurnal and nocturnal insects and spiders, cacao fruit development, leaf herbivory and the final crop yield over a period of 15 months. The selected cacao agroforestry sites were located on the island of Sulawesi (Indonesia) and differed in local management and distance to forest. The absence of birds and bats led to an increased density of insect herbivores and caused a concurrent release of mesopredators such as ants and spiders despite negative effects on the development of cacao fruits and a remarkable decrease of final cacao crop yield of 31 % across local and landscape gradients.
In addition to bird and bat field exclusion experiments, we investigated the group of insectivorous birds with two different sampling methods. Using an arthropod predation experiment (standardized exposure of dummy caterpillars), we quantified predation rates in relation to the identity and diversity of insectivorous birds. We discovered that responses of the insectivorous bird community and the predation activity differed with the landscape context and both increased with forest proximity. Our findings show that ecosystem services can be driven by single species rather than by overall communities of certain functional groups. Therefore, the conservation of species diversity and ecosystem services does not necessarily rely on the same management strategies, although nearby forests appeared to be of great importance for both bird diversity and avian ecosystem services.
The importance of forest proximity and large trees in agroforestry landscapes was also shown in a species specific study we conducted on a declining local population of the Indonesian endemic Grosbeak Starling in our study area. Although this species is well adapted to anthropogenic landscapes, it is also closely associated with large remnant forest trees that remain along forest margin areas and land use systems as nesting sites. The rapid conversion of the forest margin landscape in Central Sulawesi led to a sharp decline of such nesting sites by 92% within only two years. Hence, the endemic Grosbeak Starling is likely to be currently endangered although it was locally very abundant a few years ago. These results show how fast conversion of natural habitats and resource extraction in increasingly intensified tropical agroforestry landscapes can result in changes of the local species diversity.
In conclusion, we demonstrate the importance of the quantification of final ecosystem services such as fruit productivity and crop yield to improve the valuation of ecosystem services provided by tropical birds and bats. Species diversity and species identity are both important measures for functional diversity and ecosystem functioning, although with different importance for conservation and the smallholders’ economics. A single common species (Zosterops chloris) was more important for the service of arthropod suppression than overall bird species diversity. Nevertheless, nearby forest habitats and extensively used agroforests (shaded and without use of pesticides or other chemical compounds) turned out to be important for both biodiversity and ecosystem services. Multitrophic interactions between birds, bats and other natural enemies (ants and spiders) of phytophagous insects are likely to jointly impact the productivity of agroforestry systems in complex ways and therefore need to be considered simultaneously at different temporal and spatial scales.
1 citations
01 Jan 2016
TL;DR: A cloud of millions of insectivorous Tadarida brasiliensis bats flying towards agricultural fields in Texas, United States, to feed on insects that are pests in crop production as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Revoada de milhoes de morcegos insetivoros Tadarida brasiliensis deslocando-se em direcao as areas de plantacoes agricolas onde vao se alimentar dos insetos, praga de lavouras, no estado do Texas, Estados Unidos. A cloud of millions of insectivorous Tadarida brasiliensis bats flying towards agricultural fields in Texas, United States, to feed on insects that are pests in crop production. Foto/Photo by: Merlin D. Tuttle
1 citations
Dissertation•
20 Jan 2017
TL;DR: Results suggest that interspecific competition has a detectable effect on bat communities in Southern Ontario, as a function of competitive release.
Abstract: Effects of White-Nose Syndrome on Bat Diets and Interspecific Competition Derek Morningstar Advisor: University of Guelph, 2016 John Fryxell, Brock Fenton Competition is commonly invoked to explain variation in abundance, activity patterns, and resource use, but is difficult to detect in nature. Introduction of white-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats provides a natural experiment to test the impact of interspecific competition on bat communities. Acoustic monitoring at locations in Southern Ontario showed an increase in activity of Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus) and corresponding decline in the activity of Little Brown Myotis (Myotis lucifugus), following the introduction of WNS. Next generation sequencing of bat stomachs and guano in Southern Ontario before and after WNS allowed for the characterization of diet changes of these species. As a function of competitive release, E. fuscus consumed a wider breadth of prey and many of the insect species once consumed by M. lucifugus, including several pest insects. These results suggest that interspecific competition has a detectable effect on bat communities in Southern Ontario.
1 citations
Cites background from "Ecosystem services provided by bats..."
...Whether bats consume particular pest insects, have group-level preferences or are generalists, their contribution to the ecosystems they live in is of paramount importance (Kunz et al, 2011)....
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01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: Kitti's Hog-nosed Bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai) was found in 11 out of 24 caves; 9 in military area and 2 in conservation area; and adults weighed between 1.22 and 5.94 g.
Abstract: The distribution of Kitti's Hog-nosed Bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai) was conducted in Saiyok District, Kanchanaburi Province using harp traps between April 2010 and April 2013. This species was found in 11 out of 24 caves; 9 in military area and 2 in conservation area. A total of 672 bats were captured in this survey. The length of the bat forearms were 23.0-26.3 mm and adults weighed between 1.22 and 5.94 g. Results of this study provide information for conservation of this bat in the area.
1 citations
DOI•
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors evaluated changes in the fly-bat interaction networks in two contrasting landscapes in the Department of Arauca of the Colombian Orinoquia Region, composed of savannas and alluvial forests and the second with anthropogenic disturbances composed of cocoa crops, livestock areas and human settlements.
Abstract: The study of host-parasite interactions is key to understanding ecological interactions since parasites play a crucial role in the regulation of populations of host species. The families Nycteribiidae and Streblidae (Diptera: Hippoboscoidea) are ectoparasitic flies specific to bats, which have evolved adaptations to their host. The host-parasite interactions are formed by coevolutionary processes and illustrate the current and historical associations between the species involved. For this reason, the use of ecological networks in parasite-host interactions allows us to elucidate how the structure of their interactions respond to biotic and abiotic factors. In the present study, we evaluated changes in the fly-bat interaction networks in two contrasting landscapes in the Department of Arauca of the Colombian Orinoquia Region. The first landscape is composed of savannas and alluvial forests and the second with anthropogenic disturbances composed of cocoa crops, livestock areas and human settlements. We used mist nets to capture bats and collect their respective parasitic flies. Using this data, we built a bipartite interaction network for each landscape, and we calculated the main metrics of each network. 19.8% of the 524 bats captured presented ectoparasitic flies, with a total of 326 flies belonging to nine genera of Streblidae and one genus of Nycteribiidae. The diversity and prevalence of ectoparasitic flies of bats was higher for the disturbed landscape in contrast to savannas and forests. The networks of both landscapes were characterized by being highly specialized and modular. Nonetheless, the network obtained in the savannas and alluvial forests showed greater specialization, and the landscape with anthropogenic impact presented greater modularity. Our results confirm the high specialization and modularity that characterizes the ectoparasitic bat-fly antagonistic network. Also, we provided new observations suggesting that a degraded landscape may affect the bat hosts and favors overcrowding and, consequently, the exchange of ectoparasites between bat species, reducing the level of specialization and promoting the increased prevalence of bat ectoparasitic flies.
1 citations
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TL;DR: Nature's Services brings together world-renowned scientists from a variety of disciplines to examine the character and value of ecosystem services, the damage that has been done to them, and the consequent implications for human society.
Abstract: Life itself as well as the entire human economy depends on goods and services provided by earth's natural systems. The processes of cleansing, recycling, and renewal, along with goods such as seafood, forage, and timber, are worth many trillions of dollars annually, and nothing could live without them. Yet growing human impacts on the environment are profoundly disrupting the functioning of natural systems and imperiling the delivery of these services.Nature's Services brings together world-renowned scientists from a variety of disciplines to examine the character and value of ecosystem services, the damage that has been done to them, and the consequent implications for human society. Contributors including Paul R. Ehrlich, Donald Kennedy, Pamela A. Matson, Robert Costanza, Gary Paul Nabhan, Jane Lubchenco, Sandra Postel, and Norman Myers present a detailed synthesis of our current understanding of a suite of ecosystem services and a preliminary assessment of their economic value. Chapters consider: major services including climate regulation, soil fertility, pollination, and pest control philosophical and economic issues of valuation case studies of specific ecosystems and services implication of recent findings and steps that must be taken to address the most pressing concerns Nature's Services represents one of the first efforts by scientists to provide an overview of the many benefits and services that nature offers to people and the extent to which we are all vitally dependent on those services. The book enhances our understanding of the value of the natural systems that surround us and can play an essential role in encouraging greater efforts to protect the earth's basic life-support systems before it is too late. -- publisher's description
3,601 citations