Bats reduce insect density and defoliation in temperate forests: An exclusion experiment

Beilke, Elizabeth A.; O’Keefe, Joy M.

doi:10.1002/ecy.3903

Cited by 17 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 69 publications

(96 reference statements)

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“…23 to 44%; Böhm et al, 2011), but greater than in other temperate canopies (ca. 0-15 %; Barber & Marquis, 2009; Beilke & O’Keefe, 2023; Lichtenberg & Lichtenberg, 2002) and understories (ca. 0-18%; Barber & Marquis, 2009; Dekeukeleire et al, 2019; Maguire et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Insectivorous birds and bats outperform ants in the top-down regulation of arthropods across strata of a Japanese temperate forest

Sivault,

Kollross,

Jorge

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Birds, bats, and ants are recognized as significant arthropod predators. However, empirical studies reveal inconsistent trends in their relative roles in top-down control across strata. Here, we describe the differences between forest strata in the separate effects of birds, bats, and ants on arthropod communities and their cascading effects on plant damage.We implemented a factorial design to exclude vertebrates and ants in both the canopy and understory. Additionally, we separately excluded birds and bats from the understory using diurnal and nocturnal exclosures. At the end of the experiments, we collected all arthropods and assessed herbivory damage.Arthropods responded similarly to predator exclusion across forest strata, with a density increase of 81% on trees without vertebrates and 53% without both vertebrates and ants. Additionally, bird exclusion alone led to an 89% increase in arthropod density, while bat exclusion resulted in a 63% increase. Herbivory increased by 42% when vertebrates were excluded and by 35% when both vertebrates and ants were excluded. Bird exclusion alone increased herbivory damage by 28%, while the exclusion of bats showed a detectable but non-significant increase (by 22%). In contrast, ant exclusion had no significant effect on arthropod density or herbivory damage across strata.Our results reveal that the effects of birds and bats on arthropod density and herbivory damage are similar between the forest canopy and understory in this temperate forest. In addition, ants were not found to be significant predators in our system. Furthermore, birds, bats, and ants appeared to exhibit antagonistic relationships in influencing arthropod density. These findings highlight, unprecedentedly, the equal importance of birds and bats in maintaining ecological balance across different strata of a temperate forest.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Beilke & O'Keefe, 2023;Lichtenberg & Lichtenberg, 2002) and understories (ca. 0-18%;Barber & Marquis, 2009;Dekeukeleire et al, 2019;Maguire et al, 2015).Bird exclosures led to an indirect increase in herbivory damage, whereas bat exclosures had a weak impact within the UBB experiment.…”

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confidence: 99%

Insectivorous birds and bats outperform ants in the top-down regulation of arthropods across strata of a Japanese temperate forest

Sivault,

Kollross,

Jorge

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…Elevation ranges from 490 to 1057 m above sea level, and the landscape is characterized by ridgetops, steep ravines, and drains with streambeds that hold water intermittently throughout the summer. Eastern red bats are one of the area's most commonly captured bat species (Beilke & O'Keefe, 2022).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual dichromatism in the fur of a bat: An exploration of color differences and potential signaling functions

Beilke,

Sanchez,

Hews

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Sex differences in body color (i.e., sexual dichromatism) are rare in bats and, more broadly, in mammals. The eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis) is a common tree‐roosting bat that occupies much of North America and has long been described as sexually dichromatic. However, previous research on this species found that absolute body size and collection year were better predictors of fur color in preserved specimens than sex. We revisited this issue and photographed 82 live eastern red bats under standardized conditions, then used image analysis to quantify pelage hue, saturation, and value. We used an information theoretic approach to evaluate four competing hypotheses about the principal drivers of color differences in the fur of eastern red bats. Our analyses demonstrated that sex was a better predictor of pelage color than body size; males had redder, more saturated, and lighter pelages than females. Additionally, the fur color of juvenile versus adult bats differed somewhat, as juveniles were darker than adults. In general, absolute body size (i.e., forearm length in bats) was a poor predictor of color in live eastern red bats. In an exploratory post‐hoc analysis, we confirm that fur color is related to body mass (i.e., a proxy for body condition in bats), suggesting color might serve as a sexually selected signal of mate quality in this partially diurnal species. Future work should investigate the functional role of sexual dichromatism in this species, which could be related to signaling or possibly thermoregulation.

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“…Consumptive interactions are fundamental links for ecosystem health with broad implications for macroecology, public health, conservation, economics and human-wildlife coexistence. Nectivorous bats provide pollination services that assist with food security for human populations and insectivorous bat species reduce defoliation, improve crop yield across agricultural systems, and reduce disease risks through mosquito control (Beilke & O'Keefe, 2023;Maslo et al, 2022).Feeding modes of detritivorous invertebrates increase decomposition in the terrestrial nutrient cycle (McCary & Schmitz, 2021), while marine vertebrates influence carbon properties through grazing and predation pathways (Martin et al, 2021). Additionally, exploitation…”

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

What's going to be on the menu with global environmental changes?

Hallam

Harris

2023

Global Change Biology

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Ongoing anthropogenic change is altering the planet at an unprecedented rate, threatening biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning. Species are responding to abiotic pressures at both individual and population levels, with changes affecting trophic interactions through consumptive pathways. Collectively, these impacts alter the goods and services that natural ecosystems will provide to society, as well as the persistence of all species. Here, we describe the physiological and behavioral responses of species to global changes on individual and population levels that result in detectable changes in diet across terrestrial and marine ecosystems. We illustrate shifts in the dynamics of food webs with implications for animal communities. Additionally, we highlight the myriad of tools available for researchers to investigate the dynamics of consumption patterns and trophic interactions, arguing that diet data are a crucial component of ecological studies on global change. We suggest that a holistic approach integrating the complexities of diet choice and trophic interactions with environmental drivers may be more robust at resolving trends in biodiversity, predicting food web responses, and potentially identifying early warning signs of diversity loss. Ultimately, despite the growing body of long‐term ecological datasets, there remains a dearth of diet ecology studies across temporal scales, a shortcoming that must be resolved to elucidate vulnerabilities to changing biophysical conditions.

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Bats reduce insect density and defoliation in temperate forests: An exclusion experiment

Cited by 17 publications

References 69 publications

Insectivorous birds and bats outperform ants in the top-down regulation of arthropods across strata of a Japanese temperate forest

Insectivorous birds and bats outperform ants in the top-down regulation of arthropods across strata of a Japanese temperate forest

Sexual dichromatism in the fur of a bat: An exploration of color differences and potential signaling functions

What's going to be on the menu with global environmental changes?

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