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
Landscape and scale-dependent spatial niches of bats foraging above intensively used arable fields
Olga Heim,Olga Heim,Lukas Lorenz,Stephanie Kramer-Schadt,Kirsten Jung,Christian C. Voigt,Christian C. Voigt,Jana A. Eccard +7 more
TL;DR: It is revealed that landscape characteristics and their interactions with insect abundance affected bat activity above conventionally managed fields and highlighted the opportunistic foraging behavior of bats.
Journal ArticleDOI
Insectivorous bats in semi-arid agroecosystems − effects on foraging activity and implications for insect pest control
TL;DR: In this article, the authors assess the principal factors influencing the activity and species richness of insectivorous bats in a semi-arid Mediterranean agroecosystem and find that the proportion of natural and semi-natural habitats at the landscape and at the plot scale were the most important predictors of total bat activity.
Journal ArticleDOI
Seed dispersal as an ecosystem service: frugivore loss leads to decline of a socially valued plant, Capsicum frutescens.
TL;DR: A comprehensive case study on how seed‐dispersed plants decline in the absence of their disperser is provided, and how to apply mixed‐methods in ecosystem service assessments is provided.
Journal ArticleDOI
Local disease-ecosystem-livelihood dynamics: reflections from comparative case studies in Africa.
Melissa Leach,Bernard K. Bett,Mohammed Yahya Said,Salome A. Bukachi,Rosemary Sang,Neil E. Anderson,Noreen Machila,Joanna Kuleszo,Kathryn Schaten,Vupenyu Dzingirai,Lindiwe Mangwanya,Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu,Elaine T. Lawson,Kofi Amponsah-Mensah,Lina M. Moses,Annie Wilkinson,Donald S. Grant,James Koninga +17 more
TL;DR: Understanding synergies, but also tensions and trade-offs, between ecosystem changes that benefit livelihoods and affect disease can inform ‘One Health’ approaches towards managing ecosystems in ways that reduce disease risks and burdens.
Journal ArticleDOI
Echolocation and stratum preference : key trait correlates of vulnerability of insectivorous bats to tropical forest fragmentation
Silvia Fraixedas Núñez,Adrià López-Baucells,Adrià López-Baucells,Adrià López-Baucells,Ricardo Rocha,Ricardo Rocha,Ricardo Rocha,Fábio Z. Farneda,Fábio Z. Farneda,Fábio Z. Farneda,Paulo Estefano D. Bobrowiec,Jorge M. Palmeirim,Christoph F. J. Meyer,Christoph F. J. Meyer,Christoph F. J. Meyer +14 more
TL;DR: The results showed that echolocation call structure, vertical stratification, and wing aspect ratio were the strongest predictors of sensitivity to forest fragmentation, and species functional traits determine the vulnerability of aerial-hawking insectivorous bats toward fragmentation.
References
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