Bat pest control contributes to food security in Thailand

Conservation Ecology of Cave Bats

“…The proportion of such pests in their faeces allows the economic value of such predation to be estimated, which includes a reduction in the number of costly pesticide applications required (Cleveland et al 2006). In Thailand, the wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bat (Chaerephon plicatus) consumes economically significant amounts of whitebacked planthoppers (Sogatella furcifera) which are major pests of rice crops (Leelapaibul et al 2005;Wanger et al 2014). The dawn bat (Eonycteris spelaea) which forms colonies of up to 20,000 individuals in SE Asian caves (Medway 1958) is the primary pollinator of durian (Durio zibethinus), a high value fruit (Bumrungsri et al 2009) and a commonly eaten tree bean (Parkia speciosa) (Bumrungsri et al 2008), alongside other economically important plant species (Bumrungsri et al 2013).…”

Bats in the Anthropogenic Matrix: Challenges and Opportunities for the Conservation of Chiroptera and Their Ecosystem Services in Agricultural Landscapes

“…In northern Mexico, the impact of T. brasiliensis predation on avoided agricultural costs across a variety of staple and commodity crops was estimated at a far more modest $19 per ha and year (Gándara Fierro et al 2006). In Thailand, the value of wrinkle-lipped bat (Tadarida plicata) predation on a major rice pest, the white-back planthopper (Sogatella furcifera), was estimated to have a monetary value of $1.2 million annually (Wanger et al 2014). This estimate results in a seemingly paltry $0.13 per ha and year value considered against Thailand's 8.7 million ha (Redfern et al 2012) of rice paddies, but in this case an economic approach obscures the true value of the service: This single bat species prevents the loss of nearly 2900 metric tons of rice per year, enough to feed Thailand's entire population of 66.8 million people for a week.…”

“…Most of the world's smallholder farmers focus on staple crop cultivation and may not have the means to substitute the manufactured capital of pesticides and GM crops for bat predation. As Wanger et al (2014) demonstrate, valuation based on dollars of damage prevented misses many of the criteria most important to subsistence farmers seeking food security. There is an urgent need to better understand the importance of bat ecosystem services across a variety of crop types, regions, and management approaches.…”

“…There is an urgent need to better understand the importance of bat ecosystem services across a variety of crop types, regions, and management approaches. Research also highlights the importance of better quantifying the fluctuations in bat service provision across years and seasons, in relation to population fluctuations, reproductive phenology, and agricultural management (Lopez-Hoffman et al 2014;Wanger et al 2014;Maas et al 2015). This level of local, nuanced knowledge is key to managing pest suppression services in such a way that they are actively used as alternatives to agrochemical inputs and GM crops, and to contribute to more biodiversity-friendly and sustainable land-use practices (Tilman et al 2002;Maas et al 2015).…”

Bats in the Anthropocene

“…Durian is a highly valued fruit in Asia with Thailand producing a market value of durians of almost 600 million US$ annually (Ghanem and Voigt 2012). Other bats consume large amounts of pest insects, thereby offering services that could save millions of US$ for national industries (Boyles et al 2011;Wanger et al 2014). However, the monetary approach for protecting bat species is a doubleedged sword, since bat species without apparent use for human economy may not benefit from protection compared to those that provide some ecosystem services.…”