Mapping the pressure of natural predators on pest arthropods

Aizpurua, Ostaizka; Alberdi, Antton

doi:10.22541/au.158981075.53963117

Cited by 3 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Vegetation is indicated to be important in maintaining insect prey populations [ 15 ], while artificial lights can improve the prey capture rate of the bat species adapted to hunting in bright places [ 16 ]. Several studies have suggested the suppression of arthropods, including agricultural pests and disease vectors, by urban bats [ 17 , 18 ]. However, insectivorous species are generally poorly sampled since many studies on neotropical bats have been conducted on species more easily captured by mist nets.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Going out for dinner—The consumption of agriculture pests by bats in urban areas

et al. 2021

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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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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Going out for dinner—The consumption of agriculture pests by bats in urban areas

et al. 2021

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“…A recent estimation suggested that a single breeding colony of 4,000–5,000 adult Miniopterus schreibersii bats preyed upon 1,610 kg of pest species over a five month period [ 17 ]. In addition, over 60 metric tons of pest arthropods were reportedly consumed daily by a subset of seven bat species across Europe [ 18 ]. Bats can thus serve both as pest controllers and ‘natural samplers’ of biodiversity, and could be used to unravel the presence and expansion of new arthropod pests.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, our fourth objective was to assess ME pest species consumption, with a specific focus on taxa detrimental to forest trees and livestock. In this respect, ME provision of pest-control services remains unclear, with prior case studies drawing different conclusions [ 18 , 61 ]. However, we expected to detect stable flies ( S .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

All-you-can-eat buffet: A spider-specialized bat species (Myotis emarginatus) turns into a pest fly eater around cattle

Vescera,

Van Vyve,

Smits

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Determining the dietary spectrum of European insectivorous bats over time is the cornerstone of their conservation, as it will aid our understanding of foraging behavior plasticity in response to plummeting insect populations. Despite the global decline in insects, a restricted number of arthropod pest species thrive. Yet past research has overlooked the potential of European bats to suppress pests harmful to woodlands or livestock, in spite of their economic relevance. Here we investigated the diet composition, its breeding season variations and pest consumption of an insectivorous bat species (Myotis emarginatus), at the northern edge of its range (Wallonia, Belgium). We also explored the prey ecology to gain insight into the hunting strategies and foraging habitats of this bat species. We used DNA metabarcoding to amplify two COI markers within 195 bat droppings collected in June, July and August, thereby identifying 512 prey taxa predominated by Diptera, Araneae and Lepidoptera. Overall, in 97% of the samples we detected at least one of the 58 potential pest taxa, 41 of which targeting trees. The June samples were marked by a diet rich in orb-weaver spiders, in accordance with the archetypal diet of M. emarginatus bats. However, during the highly energy demanding July-August parturition and lactation period, roughly 55% of the dropping samples contained two cattle fly pests (Stomoxys calcitrans and Musca domestica). Moreover, among the 88 Diptera species preyed upon by M. emarginatus in July and August, these flies accounted for around 50% of the taxa occurrences. This plasticity—the switch from a spider-rich to a fly-rich diet—seems providential considering the dramatic ongoing drop in insect populations but this involves ensuring bat-friendly cattle farming. Our results revealed that bats widely consume pest entomofauna, thereby highlighting their potential role as allies of forest managers and farmers.

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“…On farmland, bats consume adult insects thereby also reducing the number of laid eggs ( Boyles et al, 2013 ; Russo et al, 2018 ; Maine and Boyles, 2015 ). The first estimation of the number of insects consumed by bats in Europe was recently performed by Aizpurua and Alberdi (2020) , who calculated that six cave- and forest-dwelling species of European bats consume 63.3±13.9 metric tons of insects daily over the whole territory of Europe. However their estimations based on bat population density only for one region of Europe, and according to that the all extrapolation is far from accurate ( Aizpurua and Alberdi, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The first estimation of the number of insects consumed by bats in Europe was recently performed by Aizpurua and Alberdi (2020) , who calculated that six cave- and forest-dwelling species of European bats consume 63.3±13.9 metric tons of insects daily over the whole territory of Europe. However their estimations based on bat population density only for one region of Europe, and according to that the all extrapolation is far from accurate ( Aizpurua and Alberdi, 2020 ). Birds and bats are major controllers of insect pests in fields, in tropical or neotropical forests and in agricultural landscapes ( Maas et al, 2015 ; Kimberly et al, 2008 ; Kalka et al, 2008 ; Morrison and Lindell, 2012 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative evaluation of individual food intake by insectivorous vespertilionid bats (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae)

Moiseienko¹,

Vlaschenko

2021

Biology Open

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Insectivorous bats provide important ecosystem services, especially by suppressing and controlling the insects’ biomass. To empirically quantify the amount of insects consumed by European vespertilionid bats per night, we estimated their ratio of dry mass of feces to mass of consumed insects. This study combines the results of feeding in captivity and the data obtained in field surveys; dry mass of feces was measured in both cases. In captivity, we analyzed the effect of species, age and sex of bats, species of insects consumed and the mass of food portion on the dry mass of feces. Using coefficients of the regression model, we estimated the amount of insects consumed by free-ranging bats based on dry mass of their feces. According to our estimates, on average, one individual of one of the largest European bat species, N. noctula, consumes 2.2 g (ranging from 0.5 to 8.5 g) of insects per one feeding night, while the smallest European bats of genus Pipistrellus consume 0.4 g (ranging from 0.1 to 1.3 g), further confirming the importance of insectivorous bats for ecosystem services. This publication offers the novel method for the estimation of insects’ biomass consumed by bats.

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Mapping the pressure of natural predators on pest arthropods

Cited by 3 publications

References 27 publications

Going out for dinner—The consumption of agriculture pests by bats in urban areas

Going out for dinner—The consumption of agriculture pests by bats in urban areas

All-you-can-eat buffet: A spider-specialized bat species (Myotis emarginatus) turns into a pest fly eater around cattle

Quantitative evaluation of individual food intake by insectivorous vespertilionid bats (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae)

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