Prey Consumed by Eight Species of Insectivorous Bats from Southern Illinois

Feldhamer, George A.; Carter, Timothy C.; Whitaker, John O.

doi:10.1674/0003-0031-162.1.43

Cited by 45 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Evening bats at Horseshoe Lake feed heavily on spotted cucumber beetle (Diabrotica undecimipunctata howardi) (32), a common agricultural pest in both its adult and larval form. Tricolored bats in the area feed mainly on caddisflies (33). The northern long-eared bat may glean prey from vegetation, and occasionally consumes a high proportion of moths (34).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bats initiate vital agroecological interactions in corn

Maine

Boyles

2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

198

134

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In agroecosystems worldwide, bats are voracious predators of crop pests and may provide services to farmers worth billions of U.S. dollars. However, such valuations make untested assumptions about the ecological effect of bats in agroecosystems. Specifically, estimates of the value of pest suppression services assume bats consume sufficient numbers of crop pests to affect impact pest reproduction and subsequent damage to crops. Corn is an essential crop for farmers, and is grown on more than 150 million hectares worldwide. Using large exclosures in corn fields, we show that bats exert sufficient pressure on crop pests to suppress larval densities and damage in this cosmopolitan crop. In addition, we show that bats suppress pest-associated fungal growth and mycotoxin in corn. We estimate the suppression of herbivory by insectivorous bats is worth more than 1 billion USD globally on this crop alone, and bats may further benefit farmers by indirectly suppressing pest-associated fungal growth and toxic compounds on corn. Bats face a variety of threats globally, but their relevance as predators of insects in ubiquitous corn-dominated landscapes underlines the economic and ecological importance of conserving biodiversity.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bats initiate vital agroecological interactions in corn

Maine

Boyles

2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

198

134

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Black 1974, Carter et al 2003, Whitaker 2004, Feldhamer et al 2009, Moosman et al 2012). The diets of temperate insectivorous bats are closely related to factors such as foraging habitat (Aldridge and Rautenbach 1987;Furlonger et al 1987), climate (Moosman et al 2012), prey hardness (Aldridge and Rautenbach 1987;Furlonger et al 1987), characteristics of prey detection systems (Barclay and Brigham 1991), cranial and wing morphology (Belwood and Fenton 1976;Freeman 1981), and jaw musculature (Aldridge and Rautenbach 1987;Furlonger et al 1987).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most authors have defined guild structure according to differential prey utilization (Whitaker 1972;Kunz 1973;Black 1974;Whitaker et al 1981;Griffith and Gates 1985;Warner 1985;Carter et al 2003;Whitaker 2004;and Feldhamer et al 2009). However, comparing results across studies is difficult because of variation in both bat diet and study methodology.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Black 1974;Brigham and Saunders 1990). More recently, Whitaker (2004) and Feldhamer et al (2009) described insectivorous bat feeding guilds by examining relatedness of diets of bat species in a guild. Both studies utilized community similarity and diversity indices to examine the feeding guild relationships of bat communities in the northern contiguous U.S., with Whitaker (2004) reporting on bats from Indiana and Feldhamer et al (2009) on bats from Illinois.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The presence of Eastern Small-footed Myotis and the rarity of the Silver-haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans) in northeastern North America make this particular community unique among dietary studies, as does its lack of Indiana Myotis (Myotis sodalis). Although others have examined the diets of bat communities containing some of the same species in other localities (e.g., Griffith and Gates 1985;Carter et al 2003;Whitaker 2004;and Feldhamer et al 2009) there have been no comprehensive dietary studies of bat communities in New England.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Foods of Bats (Family Vespertilionidae) at Five Locations in New Hampshire and Massachusetts

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

(40); Northern Myotis consumed the highest volume of spiders (8.1%). Community similarity index values indicated diets of the three species of Myotis were more similar to each other (similarity = 0.71) than to those of non-Myotis. The diet of E. fuscus was more similar to that of the Myotis cluster (0.58) than to either species of Lasiurus. Results suggest that, despite faunal differences between the U.S. Northeast and other parts of North America, foraging relationships among guild members follows a similar pattern.

show abstract

Interspecific competition in bats and diet shifts in response to white‐nose syndrome

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Since the introduction of white‐nose syndrome (WNS) in North America, numerous species of bat have dwindled in numbers. These declines observed are often species‐specific and thus provides opportunity for a natural experiment to test for shifts in diet through relaxed resource partitioning in bat communities post‐introduction of WNS. Acoustic monitoring at locations in Southern Ontario pre‐ (2009–2011) and post‐WNS (2012–2014) introduction showed an increase in activity of big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) corresponding to a decline in the activity of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus). Next‐generation sequencing of bat stomachs and guano in Southern Ontario before and after WNS allowed for the characterization of diet changes of these species. Post‐WNS, E. fuscus consumed a wider breadth of prey and many of the insect species once consumed by M. lucifugus, including several pest insects. These results suggest that the introduction of WNS has resulted in relaxed interspecific competition within these bat communities in Southern Ontario.

show abstract

Prey Consumed by Eight Species of Insectivorous Bats from Southern Illinois

Cited by 45 publications

References 30 publications

Bats initiate vital agroecological interactions in corn

Bats initiate vital agroecological interactions in corn

Foods of Bats (Family Vespertilionidae) at Five Locations in New Hampshire and Massachusetts

Interspecific competition in bats and diet shifts in response to white‐nose syndrome

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About