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Zhu D, Liu Y, Gong L, Si M, Wang Q, Feng J, Jiang T. The Consumption and Diversity Variation Responses of Agricultural Pests and Their Dietary Niche Differentiation in Insectivorous Bats. Animals (Basel) 2024; 14:815. [PMID: 38473199 DOI: 10.3390/ani14050815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2024] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Insectivorous bats are generalist predators and can flexibly respond to fluctuations in the distribution and abundance of insect prey. To better understand the effects of bats on arthropod pests, the types of pests eaten by bats and the response of bats to insect prey need to be determined. In this study, we performed DNA metabarcoding to examine prey composition and pest diversity in the diets of four insectivorous species of bats (Hipposideros armiger, Taphozous melanopogon, Aselliscus stoliczkanus, and Miniopterus fuliginosus). We evaluated the correlation between bat activity and insect resources and assessed dietary niche similarity and niche breadth among species and factors that influence prey consumption in bats. We found that the diets of these bats included arthropods from 23 orders and 200 families, dominated by Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Diptera. The proportion of agricultural pests in the diet of each of the four species of bats exceeded 40% and comprised 713 agricultural pests, including those that caused severe economic losses. Bats responded to the availability of insects. For example, a higher abundance of insects, especially Lepidoptera, and a higher insect diversity led to an increase in the duration of bat activity. In areas with more abundant insects, the number of bat passes also increased. The dietary composition, diversity, and niches differed among species and were particularly significant between H. armiger and T. melanopogon; the dietary niche width was the greatest in A. stoliczkanus and the narrowest in H. armiger. The diet of bats was correlated with their morphological and echolocation traits. Larger bats preyed more on insects in the order Coleoptera, whereas the proportion of bats consuming insects in the order Lepidoptera increased as the body size decreased. Bats that emitted echolocation calls with a high peak frequency and duration preyed more on insects in the order Mantodea. Our results suggest that dietary niche differentiation promotes the coexistence of different bat species and increases the ability of bats to consume insect prey and agricultural pests. Our findings provide greater insights into the role of bats that prey on agricultural pests and highlight the importance of combining bat conservation with integrated pest management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Zhu
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of Education Ministry, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China
| | - Yingying Liu
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of Education Ministry, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China
| | - Lixin Gong
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of Education Ministry, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China
| | - Man Si
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of Education Ministry, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China
| | - Qiuya Wang
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of Education Ministry, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China
- College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun 130118, China
| | - Jiang Feng
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of Education Ministry, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China
- College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun 130118, China
| | - Tinglei Jiang
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of Education Ministry, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China
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Allegrini C, Korine C, Krasnov BR. Climatic gradients and forest composition shape bat communities in Eastern Mediterranean pine plantations. Integr Zool 2024. [PMID: 38196112 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Biotic and abiotic factors can act as filters for determining the species composition of biological communities. We aimed to identify abiotic factors driving the assembly of bat communities in Eastern Mediterranean pine plantations along a north-south climatic gradient, as they are crucial forest habitats for the assessment and conservation of these communities. We expected that bat communities are predominantly shaped by environmental filtering. We conducted acoustic sampling in 35 pine plantations in Israel and analyzed recordings for species identification. We used the ESLTP analysis, an extension of the three-table ordination (RLQ analysis), to explore relationships between environmental characteristics, species occurrences, and functional traits of species while accounting for phylogenetic relationships between species and spatial distribution of the communities. Communities showed phylogenetic and trait clustering. Climatic conditions and forest vegetation composition shaped communities of bats, affecting the distribution of traits related to foraging behaviors, vegetation clutter, and the ability of bats to maneuver in it. Maneuverable species were associated with the northern Mediterranean climatic zone, with a scarce cover of drought-tolerant small shrubs and grassland. Fast flyers were associated with the center-south semi-arid area, with abundant drought-tolerant small shrubs and grassland. These forces might have a predominant role in the assembly of these communities, presumably due to the stressful climatic conditions of the study area. The ESLTP approach can be extended to other taxa and environments to predict species responses to disturbance and environmental changes and give insights into environmental management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Allegrini
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Swiss Institute of Dryland, Environmental and Energy Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, 8499000, Israel
| | - Carmi Korine
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Swiss Institute of Dryland, Environmental and Energy Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, 8499000, Israel
| | - Boris R Krasnov
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Swiss Institute of Dryland, Environmental and Energy Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, 8499000, Israel
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3
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Aihartza J, Vallejo N, Aldasoro M, García-Mudarra JL, Goiti U, Nogueras J, Ibáñez C. Aerospace-foraging bats eat seasonably across varying habitats. Sci Rep 2023; 13:19576. [PMID: 37950015 PMCID: PMC10638376 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-46939-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent research has confirmed the efficiency of insectivorous bats as pest suppressors, underlining the ecological services they offer in agroecosystems. Therefore, some efforts try to enhance bat foraging in agricultural landscapes by acting upon environmental factors favouring them. In this study, we monitored a Miniopterus schreibersii colony, in the southern Iberian Peninsula. We intensively sampled their faeces and analysed them by metabarcoding to describe how the bent-winged bat diet would change with time, and to test whether their most-consumed prey would seasonally depend on different landscapes or habitats. Our results confirm that M. schreibersii are selective opportunist predators of moths, dipterans, mayflies, and other fluttering insects, shifting their diet to temporary peaks of prey availability in their foraging range, including both pest and non-pest insects. Supporting our hypothesis, throughout the year, M. schreibersii consume insects linked to diverse open habitats, including wetlands, grassland, diverse croplands, and woodland. The importance of each prey habitat varies seasonally, depending on their insect phenology, making bats indirectly dependent on a diverse landscape as their primary prey source. Bats' predation upon pest insects is quantitatively high, consuming around 1610 kg in 5 months, of which 1467 kg correspond to ten species. So, their suppression effect may be relevant, mainly in patchy heterogeneous landscapes, where bats' foraging may concentrate in successive outbursts of pests, affecting different crops or woodlands. Our results stress that to take advantage of the ecosystem services of bats or other generalist insectivores, keeping the environmental conditions they require to thrive, particularly a heterogeneous landscape within the colony's foraging area, is crucial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joxerra Aihartza
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Sarriena s/n, 48940, Leioa, The Basque Country, Spain.
| | - Nerea Vallejo
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Sarriena s/n, 48940, Leioa, The Basque Country, Spain
| | - Miren Aldasoro
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Sarriena s/n, 48940, Leioa, The Basque Country, Spain
| | | | - Urtzi Goiti
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Sarriena s/n, 48940, Leioa, The Basque Country, Spain
| | - Jesus Nogueras
- Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), P.O. Box 1056, 41080, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Carlos Ibáñez
- Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), P.O. Box 1056, 41080, Sevilla, Spain
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4
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Tuneu-Corral C, Puig-Montserrat X, Riba-Bertolín D, Russo D, Rebelo H, Cabeza M, López-Baucells A. Pest suppression by bats and management strategies to favour it: a global review. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:1564-1582. [PMID: 37157976 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Revised: 04/13/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Fighting insect pests is a major challenge for agriculture worldwide, and biological control and integrated pest management constitute well-recognised, cost-effective ways to prevent and overcome this problem. Bats are important arthropod predators globally and, in recent decades, an increasing number of studies have focused on the role of bats as natural enemies of agricultural pests. This review assesses the state of knowledge of the ecosystem services provided by bats as pest consumers at a global level and provides recommendations that may favour the efficiency of pest predation by bats. Through a systematic review, we assess evidence for predation, the top-down effect of bats on crops and the economic value of ecosystem services these mammals provide, describing the different methodological approaches used in a total of 66 reviewed articles and 18 agroecosystem types. We also provide a list of detailed conservation measures and management recommendations found in the scientific literature that may favour the delivery of this important ecosystem service, including actions aimed at restoring bat populations in agroecosystems. The most frequent recommendations include increasing habitat heterogeneity, providing additional roosts, and implementing laws to protect bats and reduce agrochemical use. However, very little evidence is available on the direct consequences of these practices on bat insectivory in farmland. Additionally, through a second in-depth systematic review of scientific articles focused on bat diet and, as part of the ongoing European Cost Action project CA18107, we provide a complete list of 2308 documented interactions between bat species and their respective insect pest prey. These pertain to 81 bat species belonging to 36 different genera preying upon 760 insect pests from 14 orders in agroecosystems and other habitats such as forest or urban areas. The data set is publicly available and updatable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carme Tuneu-Corral
- BiBio, Biodiversity and Bioindicators Research Group, Natural Sciences Museum of Granollers, Av. Francesc Macià 51, Granollers, Catalonia, 08402, Spain
- CIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigaçaõ em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, 4485-661, Portugal
- Global Change and Conservation Lab, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Program, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Xavier Puig-Montserrat
- BiBio, Biodiversity and Bioindicators Research Group, Natural Sciences Museum of Granollers, Av. Francesc Macià 51, Granollers, Catalonia, 08402, Spain
| | - Daniel Riba-Bertolín
- BiBio, Biodiversity and Bioindicators Research Group, Natural Sciences Museum of Granollers, Av. Francesc Macià 51, Granollers, Catalonia, 08402, Spain
| | - Danilo Russo
- Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Evolution (AnEcoEvo), Dipartimento di Agraria, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, via Università, 100, Portici, Naples, 80055, Italy
| | - Hugo Rebelo
- CIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigaçaõ em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, 4485-661, Portugal
| | - Mar Cabeza
- Global Change and Conservation Lab, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Program, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Adrià López-Baucells
- BiBio, Biodiversity and Bioindicators Research Group, Natural Sciences Museum of Granollers, Av. Francesc Macià 51, Granollers, Catalonia, 08402, Spain
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5
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Janssen D, González-Miras E, Rodríguez E. Tuta absoluta-Specific DNA in Domestic and Synanthropic Vertebrate Insectivore Feces. INSECTS 2023; 14:673. [PMID: 37623383 PMCID: PMC10456033 DOI: 10.3390/insects14080673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Revised: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
The ecology of greenhouse pests generally involves parasitoid or predatory insects. However, we investigated whether the leaf miner Tuta absoluta (Meyrick, 1917) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is part of the diet of domestic and synanthropic vertebrate animals, such as birds, reptiles, and mammals, and that take part in an ecosystem that contains a high density of tomato greenhouses. Feces from domesticated partridges, common quails, and chickens, as well as from wild lizards were collected within tomato greenhouses, and fecal pellets from bats, swallows, common swifts, and house martins living in the vicinity of tomato greenhouses were collected outside. The efficiencies of three different DNA extraction methods were compared on bird, reptile, and mammal stool samples, and the DNA extracts were analyzed using probe real-time PCR for the presence of T. absoluta DNA. The results showed that bats fed on the pest, which was also part of the diet of several bird species: partridges and common quails kept within tomato greenhouses and swallows and common swifts living outside but in the vicinity of tomato greenhouses. In addition, fecal samples of three lizard species living near tomato crops also tested positive for T. absoluta DNA. The results suggest that aerial foraging bats and insectivorous birds are part of ecosystems that involve leaf miners and tomato greenhouses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dirk Janssen
- Department of Sustainable Crop Protection, Andalusian Institute of Agricultural and Fisheries Research and Training (IFAPA), Paraje San Nicolás, Autovía del Mediterráneo, Exit 420, E-04745 La Mojonera, Almeria, Spain;
| | - Emilio González-Miras
- SERBAL (Sociedad para Estudio y la Recuperación de la Biodiversidad Almeriense), E-04720 Almeria, Spain;
| | - Estefanía Rodríguez
- Department of Sustainable Crop Protection, Andalusian Institute of Agricultural and Fisheries Research and Training (IFAPA), Paraje San Nicolás, Autovía del Mediterráneo, Exit 420, E-04745 La Mojonera, Almeria, Spain;
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6
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Nsengimana O, Walker FM, Webala PW, Twizeyimana I, Dusabe MC, Sanchez DE, Sobek CJ, Ruhagazi D, Iribagiza P, Muvunyi R, Medellin RA. Our good neighbors: Understanding ecosystem services provided by insectivorous bats in Rwanda. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0287536. [PMID: 37352304 PMCID: PMC10289311 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Bats are prodigious consumers of agricultural and forest pests, and are, therefore, a natural asset for agricultural productivity, suppressing populations of such pests. This study provides baseline information of diet of 143 bats belonging to eight insectivorous bat species from agricultural areas of Rwanda while evaluating the effectiveness of bats as pest suppressors. Using DNA metabarcoding to analyze bat fecal pellets, 85 different insect species were detected, with 60% (n = 65), 64% (n = 11) and 78% (n = 9) found to be agricultural pests from eastern, northern and western regions, respectively. Given the high percentages of agricultural pests detected, we submit that Rwandan insectivorous bats have the capacity for biocontrol of agricultural pests. Rwandan bat populations should be protected and promoted since they may foster higher crop yields and sustainable livelihoods.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Faith M. Walker
- Bat Ecology & Genetics Lab, School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
- The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Paul W. Webala
- Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Maasai Mara University, Narok, Kenya
| | | | | | - Daniel E. Sanchez
- Bat Ecology & Genetics Lab, School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
- The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Colin J. Sobek
- Bat Ecology & Genetics Lab, School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
- The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Deo Ruhagazi
- Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association, Kigali, Rwanda
| | | | | | - Rodrigo A. Medellin
- Institute of Ecology, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
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7
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Chua PYS, Bourlat SJ, Ferguson C, Korlevic P, Zhao L, Ekrem T, Meier R, Lawniczak MKN. Future of DNA-based insect monitoring. Trends Genet 2023:S0168-9525(23)00038-0. [PMID: 36907721 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2023.02.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023]
Abstract
Insects are crucial for ecosystem health but climate change and pesticide use are driving massive insect decline. To mitigate this loss, we need new and effective monitoring techniques. Over the past decade there has been a shift to DNA-based techniques. We describe key emerging techniques for sample collection. We suggest that the selection of tools should be broadened, and that DNA-based insect monitoring data need to be integrated more rapidly into policymaking. We argue that there are four key areas for advancement, including the generation of more complete DNA barcode databases to interpret molecular data, standardisation of molecular methods, scaling up of monitoring efforts, and integrating molecular tools with other technologies that allow continuous, passive monitoring based on images and/or laser imaging, detection, and ranging (LIDAR).
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Affiliation(s)
- Physilia Y S Chua
- Tree of Life, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Sarah J Bourlat
- Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Museum Koenig, Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany
| | - Cameron Ferguson
- Tree of Life, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK
| | - Petra Korlevic
- Tree of Life, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK
| | - Leia Zhao
- Tree of Life, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK
| | - Torbjørn Ekrem
- Department of Natural History, NTNU University Museum, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Rudolf Meier
- Museum für Naturkunde, Center for Integrative Biodiversity Discovery, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Berlin, Germany
| | - Mara K N Lawniczak
- Tree of Life, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK
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8
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Beilke EA, O'Keefe JM. Bats reduce insect density and defoliation in temperate forests: An exclusion experiment. Ecology 2023; 104:e3903. [PMID: 36310413 PMCID: PMC10078224 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Bats suppress insect populations in agricultural ecosystems, yet the question of whether bats initiate trophic cascades in forests is mainly unexplored. We used a field experiment to test the hypothesis that insectivorous bats reduce defoliation through the top-down suppression of forest-defoliating insects. We excluded bats from 20 large, subcanopy forest plots (opened daily to allow birds access), each paired with an experimental control plot, during three summers between 2018 and 2020 in the central hardwood region of the United States. We monitored leaf area changes and insect density for nine to 10 oak or hickory seedlings per plot. Insect density was three times greater on seedlings in bat-excluded versus control plots. Additionally, seedling defoliation was five times greater with bats excluded, and bats' impact on defoliation was three times greater for oaks than for hickories. We show that insectivorous bats drive top-down trophic cascades, play an integral role in forest ecosystems, and may ultimately influence forest health, structure, and composition. This work demonstrates insectivorous bats' ecological and economic value and the importance of conserving this highly imperiled group of predators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A. Beilke
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental SciencesUniversity of Illinois at Urbana‐ChampaignUrbanaIllinoisUSA
- Center for Bat Research, Outreach, and ConservationIndiana State UniversityTerre HauteIndianaUSA
| | - Joy M. O'Keefe
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental SciencesUniversity of Illinois at Urbana‐ChampaignUrbanaIllinoisUSA
- Center for Bat Research, Outreach, and ConservationIndiana State UniversityTerre HauteIndianaUSA
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9
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Swartz E, Weier SM, Pretorius ME, Keith M. Natural Vegetation Edges Promote Bat Activity in Macadamia Orchards in Northeastern South Africa. AFRICAN JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE RESEARCH 2022. [DOI: 10.3957/056.052.0155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emma Swartz
- Eugène Marais Chair of Wildlife Management, Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Pretoria, 0028 South Africa
| | - Sina M. Weier
- SARChI (NRF-DST) Research Chair on Biodiversity Value and Change, School of Mathematical & Natural Science, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa
| | - Mariëtte E. Pretorius
- Eugène Marais Chair of Wildlife Management, Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Pretoria, 0028 South Africa
| | - Mark Keith
- Eugène Marais Chair of Wildlife Management, Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Pretoria, 0028 South Africa
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10
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Groen K, Trimbos KB, Hein S, Blaauw AI, van Bodegom PM, Hahne J, Jacob J. Establishment of a fecal DNA quantification technique for rare and cryptic diet constituents in small mammals. Mol Ecol Resour 2022; 22:2220-2231. [PMID: 35297564 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Revised: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
DNA-based approaches have highly improved the applicability of dietary studies aimed at investigating ecological processes. These studies have provided direct insights into, otherwise difficult to measure, interactions between species and trophic levels, food web structure and ecosystem functioning. However, despite these advances, DNA-based methods have been struggling to accurately quantify the whole breadth of diet constituents because of methodological biases, such as amplification bias and digestive processes. This study is, to our knowledge, the first diet study that used droplet digital PCR to quantify diet constituents. We manipulated the diet of wild caught wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) by feeding them with a known amount of small vegetable seeds (onion and carrot) and quantified the DNA traces of these diet constituents in fecal samples. The sensitivity of the technique combined with the control on the experimental design allowed mitigation of methodological bias. We were able to accurately determine DNA concentrations of small vegetable seeds in the diet of wood mice. Quantification of target DNA demonstrated significant differences in DNA content when one vs. five seeds were consumed. These differences remained significant when the age, sex, and other diet constituents of the mice were altered. Different DNA markers, targeting different parts of the chloroplast, influenced onion DNA detectability. However, all onion and carrot markers showed higher DNA content for higher seed numbers. Overall, the sensitive DNA based approach developed in this study allows for minimally-invasive quantification of small diet constituents in feces, which would otherwise be undetectable with traditional methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Groen
- Environmental Biology, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, Van Steenis Building Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC, The Netherlands
| | - Krijn B Trimbos
- Environmental Biology, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, Van Steenis Building Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC, The Netherlands
| | - Susanne Hein
- Vertebrate Research, Institute for Plant Protection in Horticulture and Forests, Julius Kühn-Institute (JKI) Federal Research Institute for Cultivated Plants, Toppheideweg 88, 48161, Münster, Germany.,Present address: BASF SE, Agricultural Solutions - Global Ecotoxicology, Limburgerhof, Germany
| | - Astrid I Blaauw
- Environmental Biology, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, Van Steenis Building Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC, The Netherlands
| | - Peter M van Bodegom
- Environmental Biology, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, Van Steenis Building Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC, The Netherlands
| | - Joerg Hahne
- Bayer AG, Crop Science Division, Terrestrial Vertebrates, Monheim am Rhein, Germany
| | - Jens Jacob
- Vertebrate Research, Institute for Plant Protection in Horticulture and Forests, Julius Kühn-Institute (JKI) Federal Research Institute for Cultivated Plants, Toppheideweg 88, 48161, Münster, Germany
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11
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Banko PC, Peck RW, Yelenik SG, Paxton EH, Bonaccorso F, Montoya‐Aiona K, Hughes RF, Perakis S. Hypotheses and lessons from a native moth outbreak in a low‐diversity, tropical rainforest. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Paul C. Banko
- Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center U.S. Geological Survey Hawai‘i National Park Hawai'i USA
| | - Robert W. Peck
- Hawai‘i Cooperative Studies Unit University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Hawai‘i National Park Hawai'i USA
| | - Stephanie G. Yelenik
- Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center U.S. Geological Survey Hawai‘i National Park Hawai'i USA
- Rocky Mountain Research Center U.S. Forest Service Reno Nevada USA
| | - Eben H. Paxton
- Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center U.S. Geological Survey Hawai‘i National Park Hawai'i USA
| | - Frank Bonaccorso
- Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center U.S. Geological Survey Hawai‘i National Park Hawai'i USA
| | - Kristina Montoya‐Aiona
- Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center U.S. Geological Survey Hawai‘i National Park Hawai'i USA
| | - R. Flint Hughes
- Institute for Pacific Island Forestry U.S. Forest Service Hilo Hawai'i USA
| | - Steven Perakis
- Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center U.S. Geological Survey Corvallis Oregon USA
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12
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Baroja U, Garin I, Vallejo N, Caro A, Ibáñez C, Basso A, Goiti U. Molecular assays to reliably detect and quantify predation on a forest pest in bats faeces. Sci Rep 2022; 12:2243. [PMID: 35145165 PMCID: PMC8831491 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06195-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Targeted molecular methods such as conventional PCR (cPCR) and quantitative PCR (qPCR), combined with species-specific primers and probes, are widely applied for pest species detection. Besides, the potential of qPCR to quantify DNA in samples makes it an invaluable molecular tool to infer the predation levels on specific prey by analysing predators’ stools. Nevertheless, studies on the diet of bats failed to find any empirical relationship, and it remains to be evaluated. Thus, we developed and evaluated two species-specific PCR assays to detect and quantify DNA of a major forest pest, the pine processionary, Thaumetopoea pityocampa, in bats’ faeces. Further, we empirically compared a range of different known DNA concentrations (input) of the target species mixed with mocks and bat faecal samples against DNA abundances yielded by qPCR (output) for a quantitative assessment. Overall, cPCR showed a lower detection rate than qPCR, but augmenting the replicate effort from one to three replicates led to a greater increase in the detection rate of the cPCR (from 57 to 80%) than the qPCR (from 90 to 99%). The quantitative experiment results showed a highly significant correlation between the input and output DNA concentrations (t = 10.84, p < 0.001) with a mean slope value of 1.05, indicating the accuracy of our qPCR assay to estimate DNA abundance of T. pityocampa in bat faeces. The framework of this study can be taken as a model to design similar assays applicable to other species of interest, such as agricultural pests or insects of public health concern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Unai Baroja
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country, Spain.
| | - Inazio Garin
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country, Spain
| | - Nerea Vallejo
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country, Spain
| | - Amaia Caro
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, Spain
| | - Carlos Ibáñez
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Avenida Américo Vespucio 26, 41092, Seville, Spain
| | - Andrea Basso
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell'Università, 10, 35020, Legnaro, Padova, Italy
| | - Urtzi Goiti
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country, Spain
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13
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Ayala-Berdon J, Vázquez-Fuerte R, Guillén-Servent A, López-Cuamatzi IL, Martínez-Gómez M. Changes in activity along the year in a community of insectivorous bats inhabiting a montane ecosystem of central Mexico. MAMMAL RES 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s13364-022-00620-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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14
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Ramírez-Fráncel LA, García-Herrera LV, Losada-Prado S, Reinoso-Flórez G, Sánchez-Hernández A, Estrada-Villegas S, Lim BK, Guevara G. Bats and their vital ecosystem services: a global review. Integr Zool 2022; 17:2-23. [PMID: 34003577 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Bats play crucial ecosystem services as seed dispersers, pollinators, controllers of insects, and nutrient recyclers. However, there has not been a thorough global review evaluating these roles in bats across all biogeographical regions of the world. We reviewed the literature published during the last two decades and identified 283 relevant studies: 78 dealt with the control of potential insect pests by bats, 80 related to the suppression of other arthropods, 60 on the dispersal of native or endemic seeds, 11 dealt with the dispersal of seeds of introduced plants, 29 on the pollination of native or endemic plants, 1 study on pollination of introduced plants, and 24 on the use of guano as fertilizer. Our literature search showed that queries combining the terms "seed dispersal," "insectivorous bats," "nectarivorous bats," "use of guano," and "ecosystem services" returned 577 studies, but half were experimental in nature. We found that the evaluation of ecosystem services by bats has been mostly conducted in the Neotropical and Palearctic regions. To detect differences across relevant studies, and to explain trends in the study of ecosystem services provided by bats, we performed generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) fitted with a Poisson distribution to analyze potential differences among sampling methods. We identified 409 bat species that provide ecosystem services, 752 insect species consumed by bats and 549 plant species either dispersed or pollinated by bats. Our review summarizes the importance of conserving bat populations and the ecological services they provide, which is especially important during the current pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leidy Azucena Ramírez-Fráncel
- Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Biológicas & Grupo de Investigación en Zoología (GIZ), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad del Tolima, Ibagué, Colombia.,Programa para la Conservación de los Murciélagos de Colombia, Bogotá D.C., Colombia
| | - Leidy Viviana García-Herrera
- Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Biológicas & Grupo de Investigación en Zoología (GIZ), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad del Tolima, Ibagué, Colombia.,Programa para la Conservación de los Murciélagos de Colombia, Bogotá D.C., Colombia
| | - Sergio Losada-Prado
- Departamento de Biología & Grupo de Investigación en Zoología (GIZ), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad del Tolima, Ibagué, Colombia
| | - Gladys Reinoso-Flórez
- Departamento de Biología & Grupo de Investigación en Zoología (GIZ), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad del Tolima, Ibagué, Colombia
| | - Alfonso Sánchez-Hernández
- Departamento de Matemáticas y Estadística, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad del Tolima, Ibagué, Colombia
| | - Sergio Estrada-Villegas
- Programa para la Conservación de los Murciélagos de Colombia, Bogotá D.C., Colombia.,Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Republic of Panama
| | - Burton K Lim
- Department of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Giovany Guevara
- Departamento de Biología & Grupo de Investigación en Zoología (GIZ), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad del Tolima, Ibagué, Colombia
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15
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16
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Cable AB, Willcox EV, Leppanen C. Contaminant exposure as an additional stressor to bats affected by white-nose syndrome: current evidence and knowledge gaps. ECOTOXICOLOGY (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2022; 31:12-23. [PMID: 34625892 DOI: 10.1007/s10646-021-02475-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Bats are exposed to numerous threats including pollution and emerging diseases. In North America, the fungal disease white-nose syndrome (WNS) has caused declines in many bat species. While the mechanisms of WNS have received considerable research attention, possible influences of contaminants have not. Herein, we review what is known about contaminant exposure and toxicity for four species whose populations have been severely affected by WNS (Myotis sodalis, M. septentrionalis, M. lucifugus, and Perimyotis subflavus) and identify temporal and spatial data gaps. We determine that there is limited information about the effects of contaminants on bats, and many compounds that have been detected in these bat species have yet to be evaluated for toxicity. The four species examined were exposed to a wide variety of contaminants; however, large spatial and knowledge gaps limit our ability to evaluate if contaminants contribute to species-level declines and if contaminant exposure exacerbates infection by WNS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashleigh B Cable
- Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries, 274 Ellington Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996-1610, USA
| | - Emma V Willcox
- Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries, 274 Ellington Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996-1610, USA.
| | - Christy Leppanen
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 569 Dabney Hall, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996-1610, USA
- The Center for Tobacco Products, United States Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, 20993-0002, USA
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17
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Mata VA, da Silva LP, Veríssimo J, Horta P, Raposeira H, McCracken GF, Rebelo H, Beja P. Combining DNA metabarcoding and ecological networks to inform conservation biocontrol by small vertebrate predators. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2021; 31:e02457. [PMID: 34529299 PMCID: PMC9285058 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Revised: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
In multifunctional landscapes, diverse communities of flying vertebrate predators provide vital services of insect pest control. In such landscapes, conservation biocontrol should benefit service-providing species to enhance the flow, stability and resilience of pest control services supporting the production of food and fiber. However, this would require identifying key service providers, which may be challenging when multiple predators interact with multiple pests. Here we provide a framework to identify the functional role of individual species to pest control in multifunctional landscapes. First, we used DNA metabarcoding to provide detailed data on pest species predation by diverse predator communities. Then, these data were fed into an extensive network analysis, in which information relevant for conservation biocontrol is gained from parameters describing network structure (e.g., modularity) and species roles in such network (e.g., centrality, specialization). We applied our framework to a Mediterranean landscape, where 19 bat species were found to feed on 132 insect pest species. Metabarcoding data revealed potentially important bats that consumed insect pest species in high frequency and/or diversity. Network analysis showed a modular structure, indicating sets of bat species that are required to regulate specific sets of insect pests. A few generalist bats had particularly important roles, either at network or module levels. Extinction simulations highlighted six bats, including species of conservation concern, which were sufficient to ensure that over three-quarters of the pest species had at least one bat predator. Combining DNA metabarcoding and ecological network analysis provides a valuable framework to identify individual species within diverse predator communities that might have a disproportionate contribution to pest control services in multifunctional landscapes. These species can be regarded as candidate targets for conservation biocontrol, although additional information is needed to evaluate their actual effectiveness in pest regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa A. Mata
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório AssociadoCampus de Vairão, Universidade of PortoVairão4485‐661Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land PlanningCIBIO, Campus de VairãoVairão4485‐661Portugal
| | - Luis P. da Silva
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório AssociadoCampus de Vairão, Universidade of PortoVairão4485‐661Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land PlanningCIBIO, Campus de VairãoVairão4485‐661Portugal
| | - Joana Veríssimo
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório AssociadoCampus de Vairão, Universidade of PortoVairão4485‐661Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land PlanningCIBIO, Campus de VairãoVairão4485‐661Portugal
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de CiênciasUniversidade do PortoPorto4099‐002Portugal
| | - Pedro Horta
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório AssociadoCampus de Vairão, Universidade of PortoVairão4485‐661Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land PlanningCIBIO, Campus de VairãoVairão4485‐661Portugal
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de CiênciasUniversidade do PortoPorto4099‐002Portugal
| | - Helena Raposeira
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório AssociadoCampus de Vairão, Universidade of PortoVairão4485‐661Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land PlanningCIBIO, Campus de VairãoVairão4485‐661Portugal
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de CiênciasUniversidade do PortoPorto4099‐002Portugal
| | - Gary F. McCracken
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTennessee37996‐1610USA
| | - Hugo Rebelo
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório AssociadoCampus de Vairão, Universidade of PortoVairão4485‐661Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land PlanningCIBIO, Campus de VairãoVairão4485‐661Portugal
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório AssociadoInstituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de LisboaLisboa1349‐017Portugal
| | - Pedro Beja
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório AssociadoCampus de Vairão, Universidade of PortoVairão4485‐661Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land PlanningCIBIO, Campus de VairãoVairão4485‐661Portugal
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório AssociadoInstituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de LisboaLisboa1349‐017Portugal
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18
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Going out for dinner-The consumption of agriculture pests by bats in urban areas. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0258066. [PMID: 34673777 PMCID: PMC8530310 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Insectivorous bats provide ecosystem services in agricultural and urban landscapes by consuming arthropods that are considered pests. Bat species inhabiting cities are expected to consume insects associated with urban areas, such as mosquitoes, flying termites, moths, and beetles. We captured insectivorous bats in the Federal District of Brazil and used fecal DNA metabarcoding to investigate the arthropod consumed by five bat species living in colonies in city buildings, and ascertained whether their predation was related to ecosystem services. These insectivorous bat species were found to consume 83 morphospecies of arthropods and among these 41 were identified to species, most of which were agricultural pests. We propose that bats may roost in the city areas and forage in the nearby agricultural fields using their ability to fly over long distances. We also calculated the value of the pest suppression ecosystem service by the bats. By a conservative estimation, bats save US$ 94 per hectare of cornfields, accounting for an annual savings of US$ 390.6 million per harvest in Brazil. Our study confirms that, regardless of their roosting location, bats are essential for providing ecosystem services in the cities, with extensive impacts on crops and elsewhere, in addition to significant savings in the use of pesticides.
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19
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Hemprich-Bennett DR, Kemp VA, Blackman J, Lewis OT, Struebig MJ, Bernard H, Kratina P, Rossiter SJ, Clare EL. Selective Logging Shows No Impact on the Dietary Breadth of a Generalist Bat Species: The Fawn Leaf-Nosed Bat (Hipposideros cervinus). Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.750269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Logging activities degrade forest habitats across large areas of the tropics, but the impacts on trophic interactions that underpin forest ecosystems are poorly understood. DNA metabarcoding provides an invaluable tool to investigate such interactions, allowing analysis at a far greater scale and resolution than has previously been possible. We analysed the diet of the insectivorous fawn leaf-nosed bat Hipposideros cervinus across a forest disturbance gradient in Borneo, using a dataset of ecological interactions from an unprecedented number of bat-derived faecal samples. Bats predominantly consumed insects from the orders Lepidoptera, Diptera, Blattodea, and Coleoptera, and the taxonomic composition of their diet remained relatively consistent across sites regardless of logging disturbance. There was little difference in the richness of prey consumed per-bat in each logging treatment, indicating potential resilience of this species to habitat degradation. In fact, bats consumed a high richness of prey items, and intensive sampling is needed to reliably compare feeding ecology over multiple sites. Multiple bioinformatic parameters were used, to assess how they altered our perception of sampling completeness. While parameter choice altered estimates of completeness, a very high sampling effort was always required to detect the entire prey community.
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20
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Ramírez-Fráncel LA, García-Herrera LV, Losada-Prado S, Reinoso-Flórez G, Lim BK, Sánchez F, Sánchez-Hernández A, Guevara G. Skull Morphology, Bite Force, and Diet in Insectivorous Bats from Tropical Dry Forests in Colombia. BIOLOGY 2021; 10:biology10101012. [PMID: 34681111 PMCID: PMC8533215 DOI: 10.3390/biology10101012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In Neotropical bats, studies on bite force have focused mainly on differences in trophic ecology, and little is known about whether factors other than body size generate interspecific differences in bite force amongst insectivorous bats and, consequently, in their diets. We tested if bite force is related to skull morphology and also to diet in an assemblage of Neotropical insectivorous bats from tropical dry forests in the inter-Andean central valley in Colombia. It is predicted that the preference of prey types among insectivorous species is based on bite force and cranial characteristics. We also evaluated whether skull morphology varies depending on the species and sex. Cranial measurements and correlations between morphological variation and bite force were examined for 10 insectivorous bat species. We calculated the size-independent mechanical advantage for the mandibular (jaw) lever system. In all species, bite force increased with length of the skull and the jaw more than other cranial measurements. Obligate insectivorous species were morphologically different from the omnivorous Noctilio albiventris, which feeds primarily on insects, but also consumes fish and fruits. Our results show that bite force and skull morphology are closely linked to diets in Neotropical insectivorous bats and, consequently, these traits are key to the interactions within the assemblage and with their prey.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leidy Azucena Ramírez-Fráncel
- Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Biológicas & Grupo de Investigación en Zoología (GIZ), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad del Tolima, Altos de Santa Elena, Ibagué 730006, Colombia;
- Programa para la Conservación de los Murciélagos de Colombia PCMCo, Bogotá 110911, Colombia
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +57-321-409-2272
| | - Leidy Viviana García-Herrera
- Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Biológicas & Grupo de Investigación en Zoología (GIZ), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad del Tolima, Altos de Santa Elena, Ibagué 730006, Colombia;
- Programa para la Conservación de los Murciélagos de Colombia PCMCo, Bogotá 110911, Colombia
| | - Sergio Losada-Prado
- Departamento de Biología & Grupo de Investigación en Zoología (GIZ), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad del Tolima, Altos de Santa Elena, Ibagué 730006, Colombia; (S.L.-P.); (G.R.-F.); (G.G.)
| | - Gladys Reinoso-Flórez
- Departamento de Biología & Grupo de Investigación en Zoología (GIZ), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad del Tolima, Altos de Santa Elena, Ibagué 730006, Colombia; (S.L.-P.); (G.R.-F.); (G.G.)
| | - Burton K. Lim
- Department of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON M5S 2C6, Canada;
| | - Francisco Sánchez
- Grupo de Investigación ECOTONOS, Programa de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería, Universidad de los Llanos, Villavicencio 500002, Colombia;
| | - Alfonso Sánchez-Hernández
- Departamento de Matemáticas y Estadística, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad del Tolima, Altos de Santa Elena, Ibagué 730006, Colombia;
| | - Giovany Guevara
- Departamento de Biología & Grupo de Investigación en Zoología (GIZ), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad del Tolima, Altos de Santa Elena, Ibagué 730006, Colombia; (S.L.-P.); (G.R.-F.); (G.G.)
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21
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Hemprich-Bennett DR, Kemp VA, Blackman J, Struebig MJ, Lewis OT, Rossiter SJ, Clare EL. Altered structure of bat-prey interaction networks in logged tropical forests revealed by metabarcoding. Mol Ecol 2021; 30:5844-5857. [PMID: 34437745 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Revised: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Habitat degradation is pervasive across the tropics and is particularly acute in Southeast Asia, with major implications for biodiversity. Much research has addressed the impact of degradation on species diversity; however, little is known about how ecological interactions are altered, including those that constitute important ecosystem functions such as consumption of herbivores. To examine how rainforest degradation alters trophic interaction networks, we applied DNA metabarcoding to construct interaction networks linking forest-dwelling insectivorous bat species and their prey, comparing old-growth forest and forest degraded by logging in Sabah, Borneo. Individual bats in logged rainforest consumed a lower richness of prey than those in old-growth forest. As a result, interaction networks in logged forests had a less nested structure. These network structures were associated with reduced network redundancy and thus increased vulnerability to perturbations in logged forests. Our results show how ecological interactions change between old-growth and logged forests, with potentially negative implications for ecosystem function and network stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- David R Hemprich-Bennett
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.,Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Victoria A Kemp
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Joshua Blackman
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Matthew J Struebig
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, UK
| | - Owen T Lewis
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Stephen J Rossiter
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Elizabeth L Clare
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.,Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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22
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Abstract
Moths (Lepidoptera) are major agricultural and forest pests in many parts of the world, including Europe, with many causing great economic damage to crops, horticultural plants, stored items, and wool products. Here, we focus on two ecologically similar inchworms, Operophtera brumata and Erannis defoliaria, known for their high foliage consumption during the spring emergence of caterpillars. We hypothesise that bats could play a role in reducing pests such as caterpillars by switching to this abundant emerging prey. At two infested and one control forest sites, caterpillars were sampled during spring to determine levels of infestation. At the same time, bat flight activity was monitored during the peak in caterpillar abundance. During the spring caterpillar outbreak, we collected faecal samples of forest-dwelling bats capable of using gleaning. The majority of samples were positive for our focus species, being 51.85% for O. brumata and 29.63% for E. defoliaria faecal samples. The foraging activity of two gleaning bats, Myotis nattereri and Myotis bechsteinii, increased at both infested sites, but not at the control site, during caterpillar emergence, as did foraging of Plecotus auritus/austriacus, which used both gleaning and aerial hawking. We conclude that both specialists and occasional gleaners, which prefer different prey but are able to switch their foraging strategies, aggregate at sites during pest emergence and, as such, our results confirm the high potential of bats to reduce numbers of pest species such as caterpillars.
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23
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Groom Q, Adriaens T, Bertolino S, Phelps K, Poelen JH, Reeder DM, Richardson DM, Simmons NB, Upham N. Holistic understanding of contemporary ecosystems requires integration of data on domesticated, captive and cultivated organisms. Biodivers Data J 2021; 9:e65371. [PMID: 34168517 PMCID: PMC8219659 DOI: 10.3897/bdj.9.e65371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Domestic and captive animals and cultivated plants should be recognised as integral components in contemporary ecosystems. They interact with wild organisms through such mechanisms as hybridization, predation, herbivory, competition and disease transmission and, in many cases, define ecosystem properties. Nevertheless, it is widespread practice for data on domestic, captive and cultivated organisms to be excluded from biodiversity repositories, such as natural history collections. Furthermore, there is a lack of integration of data collected about biodiversity in disciplines, such as agriculture, veterinary science, epidemiology and invasion science. Discipline-specific data are often intentionally excluded from integrative databases in order to maintain the “purity” of data on natural processes. Rather than being beneficial, we argue that this practise of data exclusivity greatly limits the utility of discipline-specific data for applications ranging from agricultural pest management to invasion biology, infectious disease prevention and community ecology. This problem can be resolved by data providers using standards to indicate whether the observed organism is of wild or domestic origin and by integrating their data with other biodiversity data (e.g. in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility). Doing so will enable efforts to integrate the full panorama of biodiversity knowledge across related disciplines to tackle pressing societal questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quentin Groom
- Meise Botanic Garden, Meise, Belgium Meise Botanic Garden Meise Belgium.,Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch South Africa
| | - Tim Adriaens
- Research Inst. for Nature and Forest (INBO), Brussels, Belgium Research Inst. for Nature and Forest (INBO) Brussels Belgium
| | - Sandro Bertolino
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Torino, Italy Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin Torino Italy
| | - Kendra Phelps
- EcoHealth Alliance, New York, United States of America EcoHealth Alliance New York United States of America
| | - Jorrit H Poelen
- Ronin Institute for Independent Scholarship, Montclair, United States of America Ronin Institute for Independent Scholarship Montclair United States of America
| | - DeeAnn Marie Reeder
- Bucknell University, Lewisburg, United States of America Bucknell University Lewisburg United States of America
| | - David M Richardson
- Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch South Africa
| | - Nancy B Simmons
- Department of Mammalogy, Division of Vertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, United States of America Department of Mammalogy, Division of Vertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History New York United States of America
| | - Nathan Upham
- Arizona State University, Tempe, United States of America Arizona State University Tempe United States of America
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Sabal MC, Boyce MS, Charpentier CL, Furey NB, Luhring TM, Martin HW, Melnychuk MC, Srygley RB, Wagner CM, Wirsing AJ, Ydenberg RC, Palkovacs EP. Predation landscapes influence migratory prey ecology and evolution. Trends Ecol Evol 2021; 36:737-749. [PMID: 33994219 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2021.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Revised: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Migratory prey experience spatially variable predation across their life cycle. They face unique challenges in navigating this predation landscape, which affects their perception of risk, antipredator responses, and resulting mortality. Variable and unfamiliar predator cues during migration can limit accurate perception of risk and migrants often rely on social information and learning to compensate. The energetic demands of migration constrain antipredator responses, often through context-dependent patterns. While migration can increase mortality, migrants employ diverse strategies to balance risks and rewards, including life history and antipredator responses. Humans interact frequently with migratory prey across space and alter both mortality risk and antipredator responses, which can scale up to affect migratory populations and should be considered in conservation and management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan C Sabal
- University of California Santa Cruz, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA.
| | - Mark S Boyce
- University of Alberta, Department of Biological Sciences, Edmonton T6G 2E9, Canada
| | | | - Nathan B Furey
- University of New Hampshire, Department of Biological Sciences, Durham, NH 03824, USA
| | - Thomas M Luhring
- Wichita State University, Department of Biological Sciences, Wichita, KS 67260, USA
| | - Hans W Martin
- University of Montana, Wildlife Biology Program, W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - Michael C Melnychuk
- University of Washington, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Robert B Srygley
- Pest Management Research Unit, Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Sidney, MT 59270, USA; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apdo. 0843-03092, Panamá, República de Panamá
| | - C Michael Wagner
- Michigan State University, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Aaron J Wirsing
- University of Washington, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Ronald C Ydenberg
- Simon Fraser University, Centre for Wildlife Ecology, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - Eric P Palkovacs
- University of California Santa Cruz, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
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Smith TN, Furnas BJ, Nelson MD, Barton DC, Clucas B. Insectivorous bat occupancy is mediated by drought and agricultural land use in a highly modified ecoregion. DIVERS DISTRIB 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Brett J. Furnas
- Wildlife Investigations Laboratory California Department of Fish and Wildlife Rancho Cordova CA USA
| | - Misty D. Nelson
- Biogeographic Data Branch California Department of Fish and Wildlife Sacramento CA USA
| | | | - Barbara Clucas
- Department of Wildlife Humboldt State University Arcata CA USA
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26
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Kolkert HL, Smith R, Rader R, Reid N. Prey removal in cotton crops next to woodland reveals periodic diurnal and nocturnal invertebrate predation gradients from the crop edge by birds and bats. Sci Rep 2021; 11:5256. [PMID: 33664383 PMCID: PMC7970855 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-84633-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2020] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Factors influencing the efficacy of insectivorous vertebrates in providing natural pest control services inside crops at increasing distances from the crop edge are poorly understood. We investigated the identity of vertebrate predators (birds and bats) and removal of sentinel prey (mealworms and beetles) from experimental feeding trays in cotton crops using prey removal trials, camera traps and observations. More prey was removed during the day than at night, but prey removal was variable at the crop edge and dependent on the month (reflecting crop growth and cover) and time of day. Overall, the predation of mealworms and beetles was 1-times and 13-times greater during the day than night, respectively, with predation on mealworms 3-5 times greater during the day than night at the crop edge compared to 95 m inside the crop. Camera traps identified many insectivorous birds and bats over crops near the feeding trays, but there was no evidence of bats or small passerines removing experimental prey. A predation gradient from the crop edge was evident, but only in some months. This corresponded to the foraging preferences of open-space generalist predators (magpies) in low crop cover versus the shrubby habitat preferred by small passerines, likely facilitating foraging away from the crop edge later in the season. Our results are in line with Optimal Foraging Theory and suggest that predators trade-off foraging behaviour with predation risk at different distances from the crop edge and levels of crop cover. Understanding the optimal farm configuration to support insectivorous bird and bat populations can assist farmers to make informed decisions regarding in-crop natural pest control and maximise the predation services provided by farm biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heidi L Kolkert
- Ecosystem Management, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 2351, Australia.
| | - Rhiannon Smith
- Ecosystem Management, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 2351, Australia
| | - Romina Rader
- Ecosystem Management, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 2351, Australia
| | - Nick Reid
- Ecosystem Management, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 2351, Australia
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Ober HK, Jones GM, Gottlieb IGW, Johnson SA, Smith L, Brosi BJ, Fletcher RJ. Bat community response to intensification of biomass production for bioenergy across the southeastern United States. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2020; 30:e02155. [PMID: 32358982 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2019] [Revised: 03/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/03/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Human demand for food, fiber, and space is accelerating the rate of change of land cover and land use. Much of the world now consists of a matrix of natural forests, managed forests, agricultural cropland, and urbanized plots. Expansion of domestic energy production efforts in the United States is one driver predicted to influence future land-use and land management practices across large spatial scales. Favorable growing conditions make the southeastern United States an ideal location for producing a large portion of the country's renewable bioenergy. We investigated patterns of bat occurrence in two bioenergy feedstocks commonly grown in this region (corn, Zea mays, and pine, Pinus taeda and P. elliottii). We also evaluated potential impacts of the three major pathways of woody biomass extraction (residue removal following clearcut harvest, short-rotation energy plantations, and mid-rotation forest thinning) to bat occurrence through a priori land-use contrasts. We acoustically sampled bat vocalizations at 84 sites in the Southeastern Plains and Southern Coastal Plains of the southeastern United States across three years. We found that mid-rotation thinning resulted in positive effects on bat occurrence, and potential conversion of unmanaged (reference) forest to managed forest for timber and/or bioenergy harvest resulted in negative effects on bat occurrence when effects were averaged across all species. The effects of short-rotation energy plantations, removal of logging residues from plantation clearcuts, and corn were equivocal for all bat species examined. Our results suggest that accelerated production of biomass for energy production through either corn or intensively managed pine forests is not likely to have an adverse effect on bat communities, so long as existing older unmanaged forests are not converted to managed bioenergy or timber plantations. Beyond bioenergy crop production, mid-rotation thinning of even-aged pine stands intended for timber production, increases to the duration of plantation rotations to promote older forest stands, arranging forest stands and crop fields to maximize edge habitat, and maintaining unmanaged forests could benefit bat communities by augmenting roosting and foraging opportunities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly K Ober
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA
| | - Gavin M Jones
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA
| | - Isabel G W Gottlieb
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA
| | - Shelly A Johnson
- UF/IFAS Extension, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA
| | - Lora Smith
- Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, Newton, Georgia, 39870, USA
| | - Berry J Brosi
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, 30322, USA
| | - Robert J Fletcher
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA
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28
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Guan X, Britzke ER, Piaggio AJ, Bergman DL, Van Pelt L, Lance RF. Genetic assays for guano-based identification of species and sex in bats of the United States and Canada. J Mammal 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyaa059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Bat guano is a noninvasive, data-rich genetic resource. However, the constituent bat DNA is relatively scant, degraded, and complexed with polymerase chain reaction inhibitors. It also is comingled with a rich pool of nontarget DNA from microbes, parasites, and dietary items. We designed and tested new DNA assays for bat species identification (COX1-Bat) and sex identification (XGXYC) for use with guano and other challenging samples. We reviewed previously published assays that can be used with guano samples to obtain the same species and sex data, and attempted to validate these assays for species in which they had not previously been tested. Our results demonstrate that guano-derived DNA can be used successfully to 1) identify nearly all US and Canadian bats at the species level, or to one of three Myotis species clusters, and 2) identify the sex of at least 23 US and Canadian bat species. Our newly developed assays, and validation of previously published assays, for guano-based identification of species and sex in bats, significantly enhance the power of noninvasive sampling and genetic analysis for bat studies, management, and conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Guan
- Bennett Aerospace, Vicksburg, MS, USA
| | - Eric R Britzke
- Environmental Laboratory, US Army Engineer Research & Development Center, Vicksburg, MS, USA
| | - Antoinette J Piaggio
- National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - David L Bergman
- Wildlife Services, Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - Lolita Van Pelt
- Wildlife Services, Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - Richard F Lance
- Environmental Laboratory, US Army Engineer Research & Development Center, Vicksburg, MS, USA
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29
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Cohen Y, Bar-David S, Nielsen M, Bohmann K, Korine C. An appetite for pests: Synanthropic insectivorous bats exploit cotton pest irruptions and consume various deleterious arthropods. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:1185-1198. [PMID: 32153071 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2019] [Revised: 02/11/2020] [Accepted: 02/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Conservation biological control (CBC) seeks to minimize the deleterious effects of agricultural pests by enhancing the efficiency of natural enemies. Despite the documented potential of insectivorous bats to consume pests, many synanthropic bat species are still underappreciated as beneficial species. We investigated the diet of Kuhl's pipistrelle (Pipistrellus kuhlii), a common synanthropic insectivorous bat that forages in urban and agricultural areas, to determine whether it may function as a natural enemy in CBC. Faecal samples of P. kuhlii were collected throughout the cotton-growing season from five roost sites near cotton fields located in a Mediterranean agroecosystem, Israel, and analyzed using DNA metabarcoding. Additionally, data on estimated abundance of major cotton pests were collected. We found that the diet of P. kuhlii significantly varied according to sites and dates and comprised 27 species of agricultural pests that were found in 77.2% of the samples, including pests of key economic concern. The dominant prey was the widespread cotton pest, the pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella, found in 31% of the samples and in all the roosts. Pink bollworm abundance was positively correlated with its occurrence in the bat diet. Furthermore, the bats' dietary breadth narrowed, while temporal dietary overlap increased, in relation to increasing frequencies of pink bollworms in the diet. This suggests that P. kuhlii exploits pink bollworm irruptions by opportunistic feeding. We suggest that synanthropic bats provide important pest suppression services, may function as CBC agents of cotton pests and potentially contribute to suppress additional deleterious arthropods found in their diet in high frequencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuval Cohen
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
| | - Shirli Bar-David
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
| | - Martin Nielsen
- Section for Evolutionary Genomics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kristine Bohmann
- Section for Evolutionary Genomics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Carmi Korine
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
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Otálora-Ardila A, Torres JM, Barbier E, Pimentel NT, Barbosa Leal ES, Bernard E. Thermally-Assisted Monitoring of Bat Abundance in an Exceptional Cave in Brazil's Caatinga Drylands. ACTA CHIROPTEROLOGICA 2020. [DOI: 10.3161/15081109acc2019.21.2.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Aída Otálora-Ardila
- Laboratório de Ciência Aplicada à Conservação da Biodiversidade, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil 50670-901
| | - Jaire Marinho Torres
- Laboratório de Ciência Aplicada à Conservação da Biodiversidade, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil 50670-901
| | - Eder Barbier
- Laboratório de Ciência Aplicada à Conservação da Biodiversidade, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil 50670-901
| | - Narjara Tércia Pimentel
- Laboratório de Ciência Aplicada à Conservação da Biodiversidade, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil 50670-901
| | - Edson S. Barbosa Leal
- Laboratório de Ciência Aplicada à Conservação da Biodiversidade, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil 50670-901
| | - Enrico Bernard
- Laboratório de Ciência Aplicada à Conservação da Biodiversidade, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil 50670-901
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31
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Species richness and activity of insectivorous bats in cotton fields in semi-arid and mesic Mediterranean agroecosystems. Mamm Biol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s42991-019-00002-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Kolkert H, Andrew R, Smith R, Rader R, Reid N. Insectivorous bats selectively source moths and eat mostly pest insects on dryland and irrigated cotton farms. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:371-388. [PMID: 31988733 PMCID: PMC6972826 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2019] [Revised: 11/11/2019] [Accepted: 11/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Insectivorous bats are efficient predators of pest arthropods in agroecosystems. This pest control service has been estimated to be worth billions of dollars to agriculture globally. However, few studies have explicitly investigated the composition and abundance of dietary prey items consumed or assessed the ratio of pest and beneficial arthropods, making it difficult to evaluate the quality of the pest control service provided. In this study, we used metabarcoding to identify the prey items eaten by insectivorous bats over the cotton-growing season in an intensive cropping region in northern New South Wales, Australia. We found that seven species of insectivorous bat (n = 58) consumed 728 prey species, 13 of which represented around 50% of total prey abundance consumed. Importantly, the identified prey items included major arthropod pests, comprising 65% of prey relative abundance and 13% of prey species recorded. Significant cotton pests such as Helicoverpa punctigera (Australian bollworm) and Achyra affinitalis (cotton webspinner) were detected in at least 76% of bat fecal samples, with Teleogryllus oceanicus (field crickets), Helicoverpa armigera (cotton bollworm), and Crocidosema plebejana (cotton tipworm) detected in 55% of bat fecal samples. Our results indicate that insectivorous bats are selective predators that exploit a narrow selection of preferred pest taxa and potentially play an important role in controlling lepidopteran pests on cotton farms. Our study provides crucial information for farmers to determine the service or disservice provided by insectivorous bats in relation to crops, for on-farm decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heidi Kolkert
- Ecosystem ManagementSchool of Environmental and Rural ScienceUniversity of New EnglandArmidaleNSWAustralia
| | - Rose Andrew
- Ecosystem ManagementSchool of Environmental and Rural ScienceUniversity of New EnglandArmidaleNSWAustralia
| | - Rhiannon Smith
- Ecosystem ManagementSchool of Environmental and Rural ScienceUniversity of New EnglandArmidaleNSWAustralia
| | - Romina Rader
- Ecosystem ManagementSchool of Environmental and Rural ScienceUniversity of New EnglandArmidaleNSWAustralia
| | - Nick Reid
- Ecosystem ManagementSchool of Environmental and Rural ScienceUniversity of New EnglandArmidaleNSWAustralia
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33
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Azofeifa Y, Estrada-Villegas S, Mavárez J, Nassar JM. Activity of Aerial Insectivorous Bats in Two Rice Fields in the Northwestern Llanos of Venezuela. ACTA CHIROPTEROLOGICA 2019. [DOI: 10.3161/15081109acc2019.21.1.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yara Azofeifa
- Centro de Ecología, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas, Aptdo. 20632, Carretera Panamericana km 11, Caracas 1020-A, Miranda, Venezuela
| | - Sergio Estrada-Villegas
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, P.O. Box 1881, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53201-1881, USA
| | - Jesús Mavárez
- Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine, UMR UGA-USMB-CNRS 5553 Université Grenoble Alpes, CS 40700 38058 Grenoble, cedex 9, France
| | - Jafet M. Nassar
- Centro de Ecología, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas, Aptdo. 20632, Carretera Panamericana km 11, Caracas 1020-A, Miranda, Venezuela
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Modesto M, Satti M, Watanabe K, Puglisi E, Morelli L, Huang CH, Liou JS, Miyashita M, Tamura T, Saito S, Mori K, Huang L, Sciavilla P, Sandri C, Spiezio C, Vitali F, Cavalieri D, Perpetuini G, Tofalo R, Bonetti A, Arita M, Mattarelli P. Characterization of Bifidobacterium species in feaces of the Egyptian fruit bat: Description of B. vespertilionis sp. nov. and B. rousetti sp. nov. Syst Appl Microbiol 2019; 42:126017. [PMID: 31585749 DOI: 10.1016/j.syapm.2019.126017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Revised: 08/18/2019] [Accepted: 08/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Fifteen bifidobacterial strains were obtained from faeces of Rousettus aegyptiacus; after grouping them by RAPD PCR only eight were selected and characterized. Analysis of 16S rRNA and of five housekeeping (hsp60, rpoB, clpC, dnaJ, dna G) genes revealed that these eight strains were classified into five clusters: Cluster I (RST 8 and RST 16T), Cluster II (RST 9T and RST 27), Cluster III (RST 7 and RST 11), Cluster IV (RST 19), Cluster V (RST 17) were closest to Bifidobacterium avesanii DSM 100685T (96.3%), Bifidobacterium callitrichos DSM 23973T (99.2% and 99.7%), Bifidobacterium tissieri DSM 100201T (99.7 and 99.2%), Bifidobacterium reuteri DSM 23975 T (98.9%) and Bifidobacterium myosotis DSM 100196T (99.3%), respectively. Strains in Cluster I and strain RST 9 in Cluster II could not be placed within any recognized species while the other ones were identified as known species. The average nucleotide identity values between two novel strains, RST 16T and RST 9T and their closest relatives were lower than 79% and 89%, respectively. In silico DNA-DNA hybridization values for those closest relatives were 32.5 and 42.1%, respectively. Phenotypic and genotypic tests demonstrated that strains in Cluster I and RST 9T in Cluster II represent two novel species for which the names Bifidobacterium vespertilionis sp. nov. (RST 16T=BCRC 81138T=NBRC 113380T=DSM 106025T ; RST 8=BCRC 81135=NBRC 113377) and Bifidobacterium rousetti sp. nov. (RST 9T=BCRC 81136T=NBRC 113378T=DSM 106027T) are proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Modesto
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy
| | - Maria Satti
- Department of Genetics, SOKENDAI University (National Institute of Genetics), Yata 1111, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-8540, Japan
| | - Koichi Watanabe
- Department of Animal Science and Technology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Bioresource Collection and Research Center, Food Industry Research and Development Institute, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Edoardo Puglisi
- Department for Sustainable Food Processes, Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Via Emilia Parmense 84, 29122 Piacenza, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Morelli
- Department for Sustainable Food Processes, Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Via Emilia Parmense 84, 29122 Piacenza, Italy
| | - Chien-Hsun Huang
- Bioresource Collection and Research Center, Food Industry Research and Development Institute, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Jong-Shian Liou
- Bioresource Collection and Research Center, Food Industry Research and Development Institute, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Mika Miyashita
- Biological Resource Center (NBRC), National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE), 2-5-8, Kazusakamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan
| | - Tomohiko Tamura
- Biological Resource Center (NBRC), National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE), 2-5-8, Kazusakamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan
| | - Satomi Saito
- Biological Resource Center (NBRC), National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE), 2-5-8, Kazusakamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan
| | - Koji Mori
- Biological Resource Center (NBRC), National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE), 2-5-8, Kazusakamatari, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan
| | - Lina Huang
- Bioresource Collection and Research Center, Food Industry Research and Development Institute, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Piero Sciavilla
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy
| | - Camillo Sandri
- Department of Animal Health Care and Management, Parco Natura Viva - Garda Zoological Park, Bussolengo, Verona, Italy
| | - Caterina Spiezio
- Department of Animal Health Care and Management, Parco Natura Viva - Garda Zoological Park, Bussolengo, Verona, Italy
| | | | | | - Giorgia Perpetuini
- Faculty of Bioscience and Technology for Food, Agriculture and Environment, University of Teramo, Teramo, Italy
| | - Rosanna Tofalo
- Faculty of Bioscience and Technology for Food, Agriculture and Environment, University of Teramo, Teramo, Italy
| | - Andrea Bonetti
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy
| | - Masanori Arita
- RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, 1-7-22 Suehiro, Tsurumi, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan; Bioinformation and DDBJ Center, National Institute of Genetics, Yata 1111, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-8540, Japan
| | - Paola Mattarelli
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy.
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Local-Scale Bat Guild Activity Differs with Rice Growth Stage at Ground Level in the Philippines. DIVERSITY 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/d11090148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
High-flying insectivorous bats, as wide-ranging generalist insectivores, are valuable consumers of high-altitude migrating pests of rice in Southeast Asia. Here, we documented the behavior of relatively low-flying bats over irrigated rice to elucidate their potential role as predators of rice-associated pest insects in the Philippines. Specifically, we tested the local-scale effects of rice stage, particularly seedling and late vegetative stages, and time of night on acoustic activity of bats foraging near ground level within three functional guilds (based on foraging distance from background clutter). We also monitored bat activity from two 50 m-high towers to assess the vertical extent of relatively low-flying guilds, as well as document high-flying bat guild presence and temporal behavior. At ground level, the most active guild biased their activity and feeding over early growth stage fields, but also foraged at tower level. Activity of the bat guild adept at foraging closest to vegetation did not vary with time of night or rice stage and was absent from tower recordings. High-flying bats were predictably rare at rice level, but exhibited high foraging intensity at 50 m. Given the well-documented, sequential arrival of insect guilds with growth stage, these data suggest that at ground level edge-space bats may be important consumers of detritivores (e.g., mosquitoes). Moreover, our data suggest that just as habitat heterogeneity enhances the services of arthropod predators, these management practices also enhance bat activity and, presumably, their contribution to pest suppression.
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Aldasoro M, Garin I, Vallejo N, Baroja U, Arrizabalaga-Escudero A, Goiti U, Aihartza J. Gaining ecological insight on dietary allocation among horseshoe bats through molecular primer combination. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0220081. [PMID: 31339936 PMCID: PMC6656351 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Accepted: 07/07/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Knowledge on the trophic interactions among predators and their prey is important in order to understand ecology and behaviour of animals. Traditionally studies on the diet composition of insectivorous bats have been based on the morphological identification of prey remains, but the accuracy of the results has been hampered due to methodological limitations. Lately, the DNA metabarcoding and High Throughput Sequencing (HTS) techniques have changed the scene since they allows prey identification to the species level, ultimately giving more precision to the results. Nevertheless, the use of one single primer set to amplify faecal DNA produces biases in the assessed dietary composition. Three horseshoe bats overlap extensively in their distribution range in Europe: Rhinolophus euryale, R. hipposideros and R. ferrumequinum. In order to achieve the deepest insight on their prey list we combined two different primers. Results showed that the used primers were complementary at the order and species levels, only 22 out of 135 prey species being amplified by both. The most frequent prey of R. hipposideros belonged to Diptera and Lepidoptera, to Lepidoptera in R. euryale, and Lepidoptera, Diptera and Coleoptera in R. ferrumequinum. The three bats show significant resource partitioning, since their trophic niche overlap is not higher than 34%. Our results confirm the importance of combining complementary primers to describe the diet of generalist insectivorous bats with amplicon metabarcoding techniques. Overall, each primer set showed a subset of the prey composition, with a small portion of the total prey being identified by both of them. Therefore, each primer presented a different picture of the niche overlap among the three horseshoe bats due to their taxonomic affinity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miren Aldasoro
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Leioa, The Basque Country
| | - Inazio Garin
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Leioa, The Basque Country
| | - Nerea Vallejo
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Leioa, The Basque Country
| | - Unai Baroja
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Leioa, The Basque Country
| | - Aitor Arrizabalaga-Escudero
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Leioa, The Basque Country
| | - Urtzi Goiti
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Leioa, The Basque Country
| | - Joxerra Aihartza
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Leioa, The Basque Country
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Baroja U, Garin I, Aihartza J, Arrizabalaga-Escudero A, Vallejo N, Aldasoro M, Goiti U. Pest consumption in a vineyard system by the lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros). PLoS One 2019; 14:e0219265. [PMID: 31318887 PMCID: PMC6638854 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2019] [Accepted: 06/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Herbivorous arthropods cause immense damage in crop production annually. Consumption of these pests by insectivorous animals is of significant importance to counteract their adverse effects. Insectivorous bats are considered amongst the most voracious predators of arthropods, some of which are known crop pests. In vineyard-dominated Mediterranean agroecosystems, several crops are damaged by the attack of insect pests. In this study we aimed 1) to explore the diet and pest consumption of the lesser horseshoe bat Rhinolophus hipposideros and 2) analyse whether the composition of pest species in its diet changes throughout the season. We employed a dual-primer DNA metabarcoding analysis of DNA extracted from faeces collected in three bat colonies of a wine region in Southwestern Europe during the whole active period of most pest species. Overall, 395 arthropod prey species belonging to 11 orders were detected; lepidopterans and dipterans were the most diverse orders in terms of species. Altogether, 55 pest species were identified, 25 of which are known to cause significant agricultural damage and 8 are regarded as pests affecting grapevines. The composition of pest species in faeces changed significantly with the season, thus suggesting several periods should be sampled to assess the pest consumption by bats. As a whole, the results imply that R. hipposideros acts as a suppressor of a wide array of agricultural pests in Mediterranean agroecosystems. Therefore, management measures favouring the growth of R. hipposideros populations should be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Unai Baroja
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country
| | - Inazio Garin
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country
| | - Joxerra Aihartza
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country
| | - Aitor Arrizabalaga-Escudero
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country
| | - Nerea Vallejo
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country
| | - Miren Aldasoro
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country
| | - Urtzi Goiti
- Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Leioa, Basque Country
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Garin I, Aihartza J, Goiti U, Arrizabalaga-Escudero A, Nogueras J, Ibáñez C. Bats from different foraging guilds prey upon the pine processionary moth. PeerJ 2019; 7:e7169. [PMID: 31316870 PMCID: PMC6613530 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2019] [Accepted: 05/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Outbreaks of the processionary moth Thaumetopoea pityocampa (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775), a forest pest from the Palearctic, are thought to induce a behavioral response of bats, but up to now the moth has been seldom identified as bats’ prey. Studies on bat diets suggest moths with cyclical outbreaks attract a wide array of bat species from different foraging guilds. We test whether bats feed upon T. pityocampa in the Iberian Peninsula irrespective of the predator’s ecological and morphological features. We found that seven out of ten bat species belonging to different foraging guilds contained T. pityocampa DNA in their faeces and no difference was found in the foraging frequency among foraging guilds. A different size of the typical prey or the lack of fondness for moths can explain the absence of the pest in some bat species. Moreover, the intraspecific foraging frequency of T. pityocampa also changed with the sampling site likely representing differential availability of the moth. Lack of information on flight and dispersal behavior or the tympanate nature of the adult moth complicates understanding how different foraging guilds of bats prey upon the same prey. Our data suggests that T. pityocampa is a remarkable food source for many thousands of individual bats in the study area and we anticipate that more bats besides the species studied here are consuming this moth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inazio Garin
- Zoologia eta Animali Zelulen Biologia Saila, UPV/EHU, Leioa, The Basque Country
| | - Joxerra Aihartza
- Zoologia eta Animali Zelulen Biologia Saila, UPV/EHU, Leioa, The Basque Country
| | - Urtzi Goiti
- Zoologia eta Animali Zelulen Biologia Saila, UPV/EHU, Leioa, The Basque Country
| | | | - Jesús Nogueras
- Evolutionary Ecology Department, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Seville, Spain
| | - Carlos Ibáñez
- Evolutionary Ecology Department, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Seville, Spain
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Lacher TE, Davidson AD, Fleming TH, Gómez-Ruiz EP, McCracken GF, Owen-Smith N, Peres CA, Vander Wall SB. The functional roles of mammals in ecosystems. J Mammal 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyy183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas E Lacher
- Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
- Global Wildlife Conservation, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Ana D Davidson
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
- Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Theodore H Fleming
- Emeritus, Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Emma P Gómez-Ruiz
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, México
| | - Gary F McCracken
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Norman Owen-Smith
- Centre for African Ecology, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa
| | - Carlos A Peres
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen B Vander Wall
- Department of Biology and the Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA
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Weier SM, Linden VMG, Grass I, Tscharntke T, Taylor PJ. The use of bat houses as day roosts in macadamia orchards, South Africa. PeerJ 2019; 7:e6954. [PMID: 31198630 PMCID: PMC6535037 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.6954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2018] [Accepted: 04/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The loss of roost sites is one of the major drivers of the worldwide decline in bat populations and roost site preferences, either natural or artificially provided, are not well known for African bat species specifically. In this study we focus on the preference for different artificial roost sites by insectivorous bats in macadamia orchards in northern South Africa. From June 2016 to July 2017 we monitored 31 bat houses, mounted on poles in six macadamia orchards, for presence of bats or other occupants. Twenty-one multi-chambered bat houses of three different designs were erected in sets of three. Additionally, five Rocket boxes, four bat houses in sets of two (painted black and white) and one colony bat house were erected. Bats were counted and visually identified to family or species level. From December 2016 to the end of March 2017 iButtons were installed to record and analyze temperature variation within one set of three bat houses. We related the occupancy of bat houses to the different types of houses and the environmental variables: distance to water, altitude and height of the bat houses above the ground. Overall bat house occupancy was significantly higher in the central bat house, in the set of three, and the black bat house, in the set of two. Mean temperatures differed between houses in the set of three with the central bat house having a significantly higher mean temperature than the houses flanking it. Our study might confirm previous assumptions that the microclimate of bat houses appears to be an important factor influencing occupancy. In conclusion, from the different bat houses tested in this study the designs we assume the warmest and best insulated attracted the most bats. Further research is needed on the preferred microclimate of different bat species, co-habitation within bat houses and the potential importance of altitude and distance to water. Our study provided little variation in both altitude and the distance to water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sina M Weier
- SARChI Chair on Biodiversity & Change, School of Mathematical & Natural Science, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, Limpopo, South Africa
| | - Valerie M G Linden
- SARChI Chair on Biodiversity & Change, School of Mathematical & Natural Science, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, Limpopo, South Africa
| | - Ingo Grass
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Goettingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Teja Tscharntke
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Goettingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Peter J Taylor
- SARChI Chair on Biodiversity & Change, School of Mathematical & Natural Science, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, Limpopo, South Africa
- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
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41
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Gamboa Alurralde S, Díaz MM. Feeding habits of four species of Myotis (Mammalia, Chiroptera) from Argentina. MAMMAL RES 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s13364-019-00431-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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42
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Corse E, Tougard C, Archambaud‐Suard G, Agnèse J, Messu Mandeng FD, Bilong Bilong CF, Duneau D, Zinger L, Chappaz R, Xu CC, Meglécz E, Dubut V. One-locus-several-primers: A strategy to improve the taxonomic and haplotypic coverage in diet metabarcoding studies. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:4603-4620. [PMID: 31031930 PMCID: PMC6476781 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2018] [Revised: 02/19/2019] [Accepted: 02/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In diet metabarcoding analyses, insufficient taxonomic coverage of PCR primer sets generates false negatives that may dramatically distort biodiversity estimates. In this paper, we investigated the taxonomic coverage and complementarity of three cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI) primer sets based on in silico analyses and we conducted an in vivo evaluation using fecal and spider web samples from different invertivores, environments, and geographic locations. Our results underline the lack of predictability of both the coverage and complementarity of individual primer sets: (a) sharp discrepancies exist observed between in silico and in vivo analyses (to the detriment of in silico analyses); (b) both coverage and complementarity depend greatly on the predator and on the taxonomic level at which preys are considered; (c) primer sets' complementarity is the greatest at fine taxonomic levels (molecular operational taxonomic units [MOTUs] and variants). We then formalized the "one-locus-several-primer-sets" (OLSP) strategy, that is, the use of several primer sets that target the same locus (here the first part of the COI gene) and the same group of taxa (here invertebrates). The proximal aim of the OLSP strategy is to minimize false negatives by increasing total coverage through multiple primer sets. We illustrate that the OLSP strategy is especially relevant from this perspective since distinct variants within the same MOTUs were not equally detected across all primer sets. Furthermore, the OLSP strategy produces largely overlapping and comparable sequences, which cannot be achieved when targeting different loci. This facilitates the use of haplotypic diversity information contained within metabarcoding datasets, for example, for phylogeography and finer analyses of prey-predator interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuel Corse
- Aix Marseille Univ, Avignon UnivCNRS, IRD, IMBEMarseilleFrance
- Agence de Recherche pour la Biodiversité à la Réunion (ARBRE)Saint‐Leu, La RéunionFrance
| | | | | | | | - Françoise D. Messu Mandeng
- Laboratory of Parasitology and Ecology, Departement of Animal Biology and PhysiologyUniversity of Yaoundé IYaoundéCameroon
| | - Charles F. Bilong Bilong
- Laboratory of Parasitology and Ecology, Departement of Animal Biology and PhysiologyUniversity of Yaoundé IYaoundéCameroon
| | - David Duneau
- Université Toulouse 3 Paul SabatierCNRS, ENSFEA, EDB (Laboratoire Évolution & Diversité Biologique)ToulouseFrance
| | - Lucie Zinger
- Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERMPSL Research UniversityParisFrance
| | - Rémi Chappaz
- Irstea, Aix Marseille Univ, RECOVERAix‐en‐ProvenceFrance
| | - Charles C.Y. Xu
- Redpath Museum and Department of BiologyMcGill UniversityMontréalQuebecCanada
| | - Emese Meglécz
- Aix Marseille Univ, Avignon UnivCNRS, IRD, IMBEMarseilleFrance
| | - Vincent Dubut
- Aix Marseille Univ, Avignon UnivCNRS, IRD, IMBEMarseilleFrance
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Weier SM, Moodley Y, Fraser MF, Linden VM, Grass I, Tscharntke T, Taylor PJ. Insect pest consumption by bats in macadamia orchards established by molecular diet analyses. Glob Ecol Conserv 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
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44
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The Monumental Mistake of Evicting Bats from Archaeological Sites—A Reflection from New Delhi. HERITAGE 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/heritage2010036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
We highlight the importance of an integrated management policy for archaeological monuments and the insect-eating bats that roost inside them. We refer to India, but the issue is general and of worldwide significance. There is increasing evidence that the ecosystem services provided by insect-eating bats in agricultural fields are of vital economic importance, which is likely to increase as chemical pest-control methods become inefficient due to evolving multi-resistance in insects. We visited five archaeological sites in the city of New Delhi. We found bats at all five locations, and three of them harbored large colonies (many thousands) of mouse-tailed bats and tomb bats. These bats likely disperse over extensive areas to feed, including agricultural fields in the vicinity and beyond. All insect-eating bats should be protected and properly managed as a valuable resource at the archaeological sites where they occur. We firmly believe that “fear” of bats can be turned into curiosity by means of education and that their presence should instead enhance the value of the sites. We suggest some means to protect the bats roosting inside the buildings, while mitigating potential conflicts with archaeological and touristic interests.
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45
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Muñoz AE, Ossa G, Zaviezo T, Bonacic C. Diversity and foraging activity of bats in cultivated and uncultivated areas in agroecosystems of a Mediterranean-climate hotspot. NEOTROPICAL BIODIVERSITY 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/23766808.2019.1621626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Alejandra E. Muñoz
- Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Gonzalo Ossa
- Conserbat EIRL, San Fabián, Chile
- Programa para la Conservación de los Murciélagos de Chile
| | - Tania Zaviezo
- Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Cristián Bonacic
- Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
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46
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Rodríguez-San Pedro A, Chaperon PN, Beltrán CA, Allendes JL, Ávila FI, Grez AA. Influence of agricultural management on bat activity and species richness in vineyards of central Chile. J Mammal 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyy121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Annia Rodríguez-San Pedro
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas Animales, Facultad Ciencias Veterinarias y Pecuarias, Universidad de Chile, Avenida Santa Rosa, La Pintana, Santiago, Chile
- Bioecos E.I.R.L., Manquehue Sur, Oficina, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
| | - Pascal N Chaperon
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas Animales, Facultad Ciencias Veterinarias y Pecuarias, Universidad de Chile, Avenida Santa Rosa, La Pintana, Santiago, Chile
| | - Clemente A Beltrán
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas Animales, Facultad Ciencias Veterinarias y Pecuarias, Universidad de Chile, Avenida Santa Rosa, La Pintana, Santiago, Chile
| | | | - Felipe I Ávila
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas Animales, Facultad Ciencias Veterinarias y Pecuarias, Universidad de Chile, Avenida Santa Rosa, La Pintana, Santiago, Chile
| | - Audrey A Grez
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas Animales, Facultad Ciencias Veterinarias y Pecuarias, Universidad de Chile, Avenida Santa Rosa, La Pintana, Santiago, Chile
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Stepanian PM, Wainwright CE. Ongoing changes in migration phenology and winter residency at Bracken Bat Cave. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:3266-3275. [PMID: 29442413 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2017] [Accepted: 01/04/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Bats play an important role in agroecology and are effective bioindicators of environmental conditions, but little is known about their fundamental migration ecology, much less how these systems are responding to global change. Some of the world's largest bat populations occur during the summer in the south-central United States, when millions of pregnant females migrate from lower latitudes to give birth in communal maternity colonies. Despite a relatively large volume of research into these colonies, many fundamental questions regarding their abundance-including their intra- and interseasonal variability-remain unanswered, and even estimating the size of individual populations has been a long-running challenge. Overall, monitoring these bat populations at high temporal resolution (e.g., nightly) and across long time spans (e.g., decades) has been impossible. Here, we show 22 continuous years of nightly population counts at Bracken Cave, a large bat colony in south-central Texas, enabling the first climate-scale phenological analysis. Using quantitative radar monitoring, we found that spring migration and the summer reproductive cycle have advanced by approximately 2 weeks over the study period. Furthermore, we quantify the ongoing growth of a newly-established overwintering population that indicates a system-wide response to changing environmental conditions. Our observations reveal behavioral plasticity in bats' ability to adapt to changing resource availability, and provide the first long-term quantification of their response to a changing climate. As aerial insectivores, these changes in bat phenology and propensity for overwintering indicate probable shifts in prey availability, with clear implications for pest management across wider regional agrisystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phillip M Stepanian
- Computational and Analytical Sciences Department, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, UK
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48
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Alurralde SG, Díaz MM. Diet of Tadarida brasiliensis (Mammalia: Chiroptera) in Northwestern Argentina. ACTA CHIROPTEROLOGICA 2018. [DOI: 10.3161/15081109acc2018.20.1.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Santiago Gamboa Alurralde
- PIDBA - Programa de Investigaciones de Biodiversidad Argentina, PCMA - Programa de Conservación de los Murciélagos de Argentina, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e IML-Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Miguel Lillo 205, 4000, Tucumán, Argentina
- CONICET - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Crisóstomo Alvarez 722, 4000, Tucumán, Argentina
| | - M. Mónica Díaz
- PIDBA - Programa de Investigaciones de Biodiversidad Argentina, PCMA - Programa de Conservación de los Murciélagos de Argentina, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e IML-Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Miguel Lillo 205, 4000, Tucumán, Argentina
- CONICET - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Crisóstomo Alvarez 722, 4000, Tucumán, Argentina
- Fundación Miguel Lillo, Miguel Lillo 251, 4000, Tucumán, Argentina
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49
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Krauel J, Ratcliffe J, Westbrook J, McCracken G. Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) adjust foraging behaviour in response to migratory moths. CAN J ZOOL 2018. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2017-0284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Insect migrations represent large movements of resources across a landscape, which are attractive to predators capable of detecting and catching them. Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis (I. Geoffroy, 1824)) consume migratory noctuid moths, which concentrate in favourable winds resulting in aggregations of prey that attract bats hundreds of metres above ground. Although T. brasiliensis are known to feed on these aggregations of migratory moths, changes in their foraging behaviours have not been linked to moth migration events. We investigated possible shifts in the bats’ foraging behaviours when moths are migrating with respect to altitude and moth abundance. We recorded 1104 echolocation call passes of T. brasiliensis at ground level and at altitudes of ∼100 and ∼200 m above ground level. We found proportionally more bat activity at higher altitudes when migratory moth abundance was high. We also found that bats decreased call frequency and bandwidth and increased call duration at higher altitudes and behaved similarly with increasing moth abundance even at ground level. Our results support predictions that bats change foraging behaviour in response to seasonal availability of migratory moths and document alterations in echolocation call parameters that are consistent with optimizing prey detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- J.J. Krauel
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, 569 Dabney Hall, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - J.M. Ratcliffe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - J.K. Westbrook
- USDA Agricultural Research Service, 2771 F and B Road, College Station, TX 77845, USA
| | - G.F. McCracken
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, 569 Dabney Hall, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
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50
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Braun de Torrez EC, Ober HK, McCleery RA. Activity of an endangered bat increases immediately following prescribed fire. J Wildl Manage 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.21481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth C. Braun de Torrez
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation; University of Florida; 110 Newins-Ziegler Hall Gainesville FL 32611 USA
| | - Holly K. Ober
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation; University of Florida; 155 Research Road Quincy FL 32351 USA
| | - Robert A. McCleery
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation; University of Florida; 314 Newins-Ziegler Hall Gainesville FL 32611 USA
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