Journal ArticleDOI
Ecosystem services provided by bats
Thomas H. Kunz,Elizabeth Braun de Torrez,Dana Marie Bauer,Tatyana A. Lobova,Theodore H. Fleming +4 more
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TLDR
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.read more
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Journal ArticleDOI
Novel Papillomaviruses in Free-Ranging Iberian Bats: No Virus–Host Co-evolution, No Strict Host Specificity, and Hints for Recombination
Raquel García-Pérez,Carlos F. Ibáñez,J.M. Godínez,Nidia Aréchiga,Inazio Garin,Gonzalo Pérez-Suárez,Oscar de Paz,Javier Juste,Juan Emilio Echevarría,Ignacio G. Bravo +9 more
TL;DR: The description of a second noncoding region in the RferPV1 genome reinforces the view of an increased susceptibility to recombination in the E2-L2 genomic region, and prompts the question of whether the prevailing paradigms regarding PVs evolution should be reconsidered.
Journal ArticleDOI
The sialotranscriptome of Antricola delacruzi female ticks is compatible with non-hematophagous behavior and an alternative source of food
José M. C. Ribeiro,Marcelo Bahia Labruna,Ben J. Mans,Sandra Regina Maruyama,Ivo M.B. Francischetti,Gustavo Canavaci Barizon,Isabel Kinney Ferreira de Miranda Santos +6 more
TL;DR: Comparative data on the transcriptome of the salivary glands of A. delacruzi is nonexistent and would help to understand the physiological adaptations of salive glands that accompany different sources of food as well as the steps taken by the Acari toward haematophagy, believed to have evolved from scavenging dead animals.
Journal ArticleDOI
Farmer Perceptions and Behaviors Related to Wildlife and On‐Farm Conservation Actions
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors surveyed farmers to assess their perceptions of ecosystem services and disservices from perching birds, raptors, and bats, three taxa commonly targeted by conservation measures.
Journal ArticleDOI
Season-specific and guild-specific effects of anthropogenic landscape modification on metacommunity structure of tropical bats.
TL;DR: This work determined the best-fit metacommunity structure of a phyllostomid bat assemblage, frugivore ensemble, and gleaning animalivor ensemble within a human-modified landscape in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica during the dry and wet seasons to elucidate important structuring mechanisms and identified the landscape characteristics associated with the latent gradient underlying metacomunity structure.
Journal ArticleDOI
Market forces and technological substitutes cause fluctuations in the value of bat pest-control services for cotton.
Laura López-Hoffman,Ruscena Wiederholt,Chris Sansone,Kenneth J. Bagstad,Paul M. Cryan,James E. Diffendorfer,Joshua H. Goldstein,Kelsie LaSharr,John B. Loomis,Gary F. McCracken,Rodrigo A. Medellín,Amy L. Russell,Darius J. Semmens +12 more
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that fluctuations in market conditions can cause temporal variation in ecosystem service values even when ecosystem function – in this case bat population numbers – is held constant, leading to an economic option value argument for conserving Mexican free-tailed bat populations.
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