Prey size is more representative than prey taxa when measuring dietary overlap in sympatric forest bats

Abstract

With decreasing habitat availability and quality, considering the needs of multiple species and their interactions is crucial to maximize conservation efforts, particularly for species at risk (e.g., Burgar et al., 2019). Beyond simple habitat associations, preferred prey and their habitats must also be considered in conservation plans for predators (Arrizabalaga-Escudero et al., 2015). Highly

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

“…The principal defoliators in this system are moths (Lepidoptera), beetles (Coleoptera), true bugs (Hemiptera), and katydids and crickets (Orthoptera). The bats that occur in the study area consume all of these groups, taking prey items with wingspans that range from 1.25 to 174 mm (Clare et al, 2009 ; Cravens et al, 2018 ; Divoll et al, 2022 ; Whitaker, 2004 ). The most common large‐bodied moth families in the study area are Erebidae, Noctuidae, Notodontidae, and Geometridae; the most common small‐bodied families are Gelechiidae, Tortricidae, and Gracillariidae (Divoll et al, 2022 ; Summerville et al, 2013 ).…”

“…The bats that occur in the study area consume all of these groups, taking prey items with wingspans that range from 1.25 to 174 mm (Clare et al, 2009 ; Cravens et al, 2018 ; Divoll et al, 2022 ; Whitaker, 2004 ). The most common large‐bodied moth families in the study area are Erebidae, Noctuidae, Notodontidae, and Geometridae; the most common small‐bodied families are Gelechiidae, Tortricidae, and Gracillariidae (Divoll et al, 2022 ; Summerville et al, 2013 ). Among other insects, the herbivorous families we most observed in the study area and our plots were beetles (Circulionidae, Chrysomelidae, Cerambycidae, Elateridae, and Scarabaeidae), true bugs (Cicadellidae, Miridae, Pentatomidae), and katydids and crickets (Gryllidae and Tettigoniidae).…”

“…Although most bat species rely on forests as roosting and foraging habitats, bats have typically been ignored in studies of forest defoliator control. However, bats consume various forest‐defoliating insects (Beilke, 2022 ; Clare et al, 2009 ; Divoll et al, 2022 ; Dodd et al, 2012 ), and their pest suppression likely extends to complex forest ecosystems (Mooney et al, 2010 ). To our knowledge, only a single study has excluded bats from forest plants to examine how bats impact forest defoliation, where tropical lowland plants from which gleaning bats were excluded experienced greater arthropod density and defoliation than control plants (Kalka et al, 2008 ).…”

“…We predicted that bat‐excluded seedlings would harbor more insects and suffer greater levels of seasonal defoliation than control seedlings. We also predicted that bats would have a more significant impact on oaks than hickories because oaks are known to host a greater diversity of lepidopterans (Narango et al, 2020 ; Tallamy & Shropshire, 2009 ), which are common prey items for bats in the area where we worked (Beilke, 2022 ; Divoll et al, 2022 ).…”

Winter diet of bats in working forests of the southeastern U.S. Coastal Plain

“…In our study, a large portion of their diet was Coleoptera, but we www.nature.com/scientificreports/ found high dietary diversity, including many dipterans, possibly attributed to more dipterans in winter relative to other insect orders 39 . Flexible hunting strategies may allow bat species to adapt to different food availabilities by consuming prey that is abundant at the time, although of non-optimal sizes or other characteristics 51 . In contrast, the diet of L. cinereus, the largest species in our study and one of the largest species in North America, was comprised primarily of Diptera and Lepidoptera.…”