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Journal ArticleDOI

Ecosystem services provided by bats

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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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors conducted a semiquantitative review of publications explicitly dealing with cultural ecosystem services and identified five groups of publications: conceptual focus, conceptual focus deals with theoretical issues; Group 2, descriptive reviews, consists mostly of desktop studies; Group 3, localized outcomes, deals with case studies coming from different disciplines; Group 4, social and participatory, deals mainly with assessing preferences and perceptions; and Group 5, economic assessments, provides economic valuations.
Abstract: Cultural ecosystem services constitute a growing field of research that is characterized by an increasing number of publications from various academic disciplines. We conducted a semiquantitative review of publications explicitly dealing with cultural ecosystem services. Our aims were: (1) to provide an overview of the current state of research, (2) to classify the diversity of research approaches by identifying clusters of publications that address cultural ecosystem services in similar ways, and (3) to highlight some important challenges for the future of cultural ecosystem services research. We reviewed 107 publications and extracted 20 attributes describing their type and content, including methods, scales, drivers of change, and trade-offs between services. Using a cluster analysis on a subset of attributes we identified five groups of publications: Group 1, conceptual focus, deals with theoretical issues; Group 2, descriptive reviews, consists mostly of desktop studies; Group 3, localized outcomes, deals with case studies coming from different disciplines; Group 4, social and participatory, deals mainly with assessing preferences and perceptions; and Group 5, economic assessments, provides economic valuations. Emerging themes in cultural ecosystem services research relate to improving methods for cultural ecosystem services valuation, studying cultural ecosystem services in the context of ecosystem service bundles, and more clearly articulating policy implications. Based on our findings, we conclude that: (1) cultural ecosystem services are well placed as a tool to bridge gaps between different academic disciplines and research communities, (2) capitalizing on the societal relevance of cultural ecosystem services could help address real-world problems, and (3) cultural ecosystem services have the potential to foster new conceptual links between alternative logics relating to a variety of social and ecological issues.

689 citations


Cites background from "Ecosystem services provided by bats..."

  • ...…by references, the range and relative importance of ecosystem services delivered in changing conditions by suppliers, and typically argued that cultural ecosystem services needed more attention, thus appealing for more research (e.g., Ljung et al. 2009, Kunz et al. 2011, Lundy and Wade 2011)....

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BookDOI
01 Apr 2019
TL;DR: The Biology of Caves and other Subterranean Habitats offers a concise but comprehensive introduction to cave ecology and evolution and more than 650 references, 150 of which are new since the first edition, provide many entry points to the research literature.
Abstract: Caves and other subterranean habitats with their often strange (even bizarre) inhabitants have long been objects of fascination, curiosity, and debate. The question of how such organisms have evolved, and the relative roles of natural selection and genetic drift, has engaged subterranean biologists for decades. Indeed, these studies continue to inform the general theory of adaptation and evolution. Subterranean ecosystems generally exhibit little or no primary productivity and, as extreme ecosystems, provide general insights into ecosystem function. The Biology of Caves and other Subterranean Habitats offers a concise but comprehensive introduction to cave ecology and evolution. Whilst there is an emphasis on biological processes occurring in these unique environments, conservation and management aspects are also considered. The monograph includes a global range of examples from more than 25 countries, and case studies from both caves and non-cave subterranean habitats; it also provides a clear explanation of specialized terms used by speleologists. This accessible text will appeal to researchers new to the field and to the many professional ecologists and conservation practitioners requiring a concise but authoritative overview. Its engaging style will also make it suitable for undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in cave and subterranean biology. Its more than 650 references, 150 of which are new since the first edition, provide many entry points to the research literature.

549 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
20 Jun 2012-PLOS ONE
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that WNS-affected bats aroused to euthermic body temperatures more frequently than unaffected bats, likely contributing to subsequent mortality, and the number of arousal bouts since datalogger attachment significantly predicted date of death.
Abstract: White-nose syndrome (WNS), an emerging infectious disease that has killed over 5.5 million hibernating bats, is named for the causative agent, a white fungus (Geomyces destructans (Gd)) that invades the skin of torpid bats. During hibernation, arousals to warm (euthermic) body temperatures are normal but deplete fat stores. Temperature-sensitive dataloggers were attached to the backs of 504 free-ranging little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) in hibernacula located throughout the northeastern USA. Dataloggers were retrieved at the end of the hibernation season and complete profiles of skin temperature data were available from 83 bats, which were categorized as: (1) unaffected, (2) WNS-affected but alive at time of datalogger removal, or (3) WNS-affected but found dead at time of datalogger removal. Histological confirmation of WNS severity (as indexed by degree of fungal infection) as well as confirmation of presence/absence of DNA from Gd by PCR was determined for 26 animals. We demonstrated that WNS-affected bats aroused to euthermic body temperatures more frequently than unaffected bats, likely contributing to subsequent mortality. Within the subset of WNS-affected bats that were found dead at the time of datalogger removal, the number of arousal bouts since datalogger attachment significantly predicted date of death. Additionally, the severity of cutaneous Gd infection correlated with the number of arousal episodes from torpor during hibernation. Thus, increased frequency of arousal from torpor likely contributes to WNS-associated mortality, but the question of how Gd infection induces increased arousals remains unanswered.

269 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is shown that global and regional networks that connect researchers, conservation practitioners, and local stakeholders to share knowledge, build capacity, and prioritize and coordinate research and conservation efforts, are vital to ensuring sustainable bat populations worldwide.
Abstract: Bats are an ecologically and taxonomically diverse group accounting for roughly a fifth of mammalian diversity worldwide. Many of the threats bats face (e.g., habitat loss, bushmeat hunting, and climate change) reflect the conservation challenges of our era. However, compared to other mammals and birds, we know significantly less about the population status of most bat species, which makes prioritizing and planning conservation actions challenging. Over a third of bat species assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are considered threatened or data deficient, and well over half of the species have unknown or decreasing population trends. That equals 988 species, or 80% of bats assessed by IUCN, needing conservation or research attention. Delivering conservation to bat species will require sustained efforts to assess population status and trends and address data deficiencies. Successful bat conservation must integrate research and conservation to identify stressors and their solutions and to test the efficacy of actions to stabilize or increase populations. Global and regional networks that connect researchers, conservation practitioners, and local stakeholders to share knowledge, build capacity, and prioritize and coordinate research and conservation efforts, are vital to ensuring sustainable bat populations worldwide.

265 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is found that bat and bird exclusion increased insect herbivore abundance, despite the concurrent release of mesopredators such as ants and spiders, and negatively affected fruit development, with final crop yield decreasing by 31% across local (shade cover) and landscape gradients.
Abstract: Human welfare is significantly linked to ecosystem services such as the suppression of pest insects by birds and bats. However, effects of biocontrol services on tropical cash crop yield are still largely unknown. For the first time, we manipulated the access of birds and bats in an exclosure experiment (day, night and full exclosures compared to open controls in Indonesian cacao agroforestry) and quantified the arthropod communities, the fruit development and the final yield over a long time period (15 months). We found that bat and bird exclusion increased insect herbivore abundance, despite the concurrent release of mesopredators such as ants and spiders, and negatively affected fruit development, with final crop yield decreasing by 31% across local (shade cover) and landscape (distance to primary forest) gradients. Our results highlight the tremendous economic impact of common insectivorous birds and bats, which need to become an essential part of sustainable landscape management.

262 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Jan Schipper1, Jan Schipper2, Janice Chanson1, Janice Chanson2, Federica Chiozza3, Neil A. Cox2, Neil A. Cox1, Michael R. Hoffmann1, Michael R. Hoffmann2, Vineet Katariya1, John F. Lamoreux1, John F. Lamoreux4, Ana S. L. Rodrigues5, Ana S. L. Rodrigues6, Simon N. Stuart1, Simon N. Stuart2, Helen J. Temple1, Jonathan E. M. Baillie7, Luigi Boitani3, Thomas E. Lacher4, Thomas E. Lacher2, Russell A. Mittermeier, Andrew T. Smith8, Daniel Absolon, John M. Aguiar2, John M. Aguiar4, Giovanni Amori, Noura Bakkour9, Noura Bakkour2, Ricardo Baldi10, Ricardo Baldi11, Richard J. Berridge, Jon Bielby12, Jon Bielby7, Patricia Ann Black13, Julian Blanc, Thomas M. Brooks14, Thomas M. Brooks2, Thomas M. Brooks15, James Burton16, James Burton17, Thomas M. Butynski18, Gianluca Catullo, Roselle Chapman, Zoe Cokeliss7, Ben Collen7, Jim Conroy, Justin Cooke, Gustavo A. B. da Fonseca19, Gustavo A. B. da Fonseca20, Andrew E. Derocher21, Holly T. Dublin, J. W. Duckworth11, Louise H. Emmons22, Richard H. Emslie1, Marco Festa-Bianchet23, Matthew N. Foster, Sabrina Foster24, David L. Garshelis25, C. Cormack Gates26, Mariano Gimenez-Dixon, Susana González, José F. González-Maya, Tatjana C. Good27, Geoffrey Hammerson28, Philip S. Hammond29, D. C. D. Happold30, Meredith Happold30, John Hare, Richard B. Harris31, Clare E. Hawkins32, Clare E. Hawkins14, Mandy Haywood33, Lawrence R. Heaney34, Simon Hedges11, Kristofer M. Helgen22, Craig Hilton-Taylor1, Syed Ainul Hussain35, Nobuo Ishii36, Thomas Jefferson37, Richard K. B. Jenkins38, Charlotte H. Johnston8, Mark Keith39, Jonathan Kingdon40, David Knox2, Kit M. Kovacs41, Kit M. Kovacs42, Penny F. Langhammer8, Kristin Leus43, Rebecca L. Lewison44, Gabriela Lichtenstein, Lloyd F. Lowry45, Zoe Macavoy12, Georgina M. Mace12, David Mallon46, Monica Masi, Meghan W. McKnight, Rodrigo A. Medellín47, Patricia Medici48, G. Mills, Patricia D. Moehlman, Sanjay Molur, Arturo Mora1, Kristin Nowell, John F. Oates49, Wanda Olech, William R.L. Oliver, Monik Oprea22, Bruce D. Patterson34, William F. Perrin37, Beth Polidoro1, Caroline M. Pollock1, Abigail Powel50, Yelizaveta Protas9, Paul A. Racey38, Jim Ragle1, Pavithra Ramani24, Galen B. Rathbun51, Randall R. Reeves, Stephen B. Reilly37, John E. Reynolds52, Carlo Rondinini3, Ruth Grace Rosell-Ambal2, Monica Rulli, Anthony B. Rylands, Simona Savini, Cody J. Schank24, Wes Sechrest24, Caryn Self-Sullivan, Alan Shoemaker1, Claudio Sillero-Zubiri40, Naamal De Silva, David E. Smith24, Chelmala Srinivasulu53, P. J. Stephenson, Nico van Strien54, Bibhab Kumar Talukdar55, Barbara L. Taylor37, Rob Timmins, Diego G. Tirira, Marcelo F. Tognelli56, Marcelo F. Tognelli10, Katerina Tsytsulina, Liza M. Veiga57, Jean-Christophe Vié1, Elizabeth A. Williamson58, Sarah A. Wyatt, Yan Xie, Bruce E. Young28 
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10 Oct 2008-Science
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a comprehensive assessment of the conservation status and distribution of the world's mammals, including marine mammals, using data collected by 1700+ experts, covering all 5487 species.
Abstract: Knowledge of mammalian diversity is still surprisingly disparate, both regionally and taxonomically. Here, we present a comprehensive assessment of the conservation status and distribution of the world's mammals. Data, compiled by 1700+ experts, cover all 5487 species, including marine mammals. Global macroecological patterns are very different for land and marine species but suggest common mechanisms driving diversity and endemism across systems. Compared with land species, threat levels are higher among marine mammals, driven by different processes (accidental mortality and pollution, rather than habitat loss), and are spatially distinct (peaking in northern oceans, rather than in Southeast Asia). Marine mammals are also disproportionately poorly known. These data are made freely available to support further scientific developments and conservation action.

1,383 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on how ecosystem services contribute to agricultural productivity and how ecosystem dis-services detract from it, and explore the importance of scale and economic externalities for the management of ecosystem service provision to agriculture.

1,271 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, an enhanced framework for the valuation of ecosystem services, with specific attention for stakeholders, is proposed, which includes a procedure to assess the value of regulation services that avoids double counting of these services.

1,218 citations

Book
26 Jul 1974
TL;DR: This chapter discusses biological control through research, the role of pesticides, and other biological methods in the management of pests, pesticides and biological control.
Abstract: 1. Pests, pesticides and biological control 2. Natural enemies 3. Biological control ecology 4. Early naturalists and experiments 5. The first foreign explorers 6. Modern foreign exploration and successes 7. Maximising biological control through research 8. Utilization by the public 9. Other biological methods 10. Escape from the pesticide dilemma.

1,206 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This research agenda discusses critical questions and key approaches in determining the various aspects of community structure that influence function in real landscapes, especially compensatory community responses that stabilize function, or non-random extinction sequences that rapidly erode it.
Abstract: Human domination of the biosphere has greatly altered ecosystems, often overwhelming their capacity to provide ecosystem services critical to our survival. Yet ecological understanding of ecosystem services is quite limited. Previous work maps the supply and demand for services, assesses threats to them, and estimates economic values, but does not measure the underlying role of biodiversity in providing services. In contrast, experimental studies of biodiversity-function examine communities whose structures often differ markedly from those providing services in real landscapes. A bridge is needed between these two approaches. To develop this research agenda, I discuss critical questions and key approaches in four areas: (1) identifying the important 'ecosystem service providers'; (2) determining the various aspects of community structure that influence function in real landscapes, especially compensatory community responses that stabilize function, or non-random extinction sequences that rapidly erode it; (3) assessing key environmental factors influencing provision of services, and (4) measuring the spatio-temporal scale over which providers and services operate. I show how this research agenda can assist in developing environmental policy and natural resource management plans.

1,190 citations


"Ecosystem services provided by bats..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Gesneriaceae (6) Arecaceae (15), Cactaceae (11), Moraceae (10),...

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