Student Perceptions of, and Attitudes toward, Bats in Barak Valley, Assam, India

Abstract

In ecology, foraging requires animals to expend energy in order to obtain resources. The cost of foraging can be reduced through kleptoparasitism, the theft of a resource that another individual has expended effort to acquire. Thus, kleptoparasitism is one of the most significant feeding techniques in ecology. In this study, we investigate a two predator one prey paradigm in which one predator acts as a kleptoparasite and the other as a host. This research considers the post-kleptoparasitism scenario, which has received little attention in the literature. Parametric requirements for the existence as well as local and global stability of biologically viable equilibria have been proposed. The occurrences of various one parametric bifurcations, such as saddle-node bifurcation, transcritical bifurcation, and Hopf bifurcation, as well as two parametric bifurcations, such as Bautin bifurcation, are explored in depth. Relatively low growth rate of first predator induces a subcritical Hopf bifurcation although a supercritical Hopf bifurcation occurs at relatively high growth rate of first predator making coexistence of all three species possible. Some numerical simulations have been provided for the purpose of verifying our theoretical conclusions.

Updating the distribution of Vampyrum spectrum (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) in Colombia: new localities, potential distribution and notes on its conservation

“…The habitat loss and fragmentation, and transformation of natural environments may disconnect populations, favoring possible local extinction events (Lino et al 2019). Furthermore, intentional killings at the hands of local people who perceive bats as a threat, as occurs for other species of bats, could be causing the loss of a considerable number of individuals, mainly associated with the lack of knowledge and disinformation of the ecosystem services they provide (O'Shea et al 2016;Bhattacharjee et al 2018).…”

Understanding human attitudes towards bats and the role of information and aesthetics to boost a positive response as a conservation tool

“…We observed that gender, educational level, religiousness and previous contact with bats were associated with attitudinal dimensions. Regarding gender, females tended to have a more negative attitude than males (Bhattacharjee et al 2018;Lu et al 2021;Musila et al 2018;Prokop & Tunnicliffe 2008;Shapiro et al 2020;Suwannarong et al 2020), probably because bats are often associated with fear-relevant animals, such as rats and mice (Pol ak et al 2020). This is an important factor to be considered in conservation strategies or campaigns, where the information approach should differ according to gender.…”

“…With >1400 species (Upham et al 2019), they occupy a great variety of trophic niches, fulfilling numerous functions in maintaining the ecosystems' health (Jones et al 2009) and providing relevant ecosystem services for humans as seed dispersers, pollinators and pest suppressors with substantial impact for the socioeconomic systems (Boyles et al 2011;Kunz et al 2011). However, various studies show that social perception of bats tends to be negative (e.g., Bhattacharjee et al 2018;Kingston 2016;Prokop et al 2009;Reid 2016;Sexton & Stewart 2007). This perception worsened due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in which bats have been implicated as a possible origin (Zhao 2020;Zhou et al 2020), although people misunderstood the relationships between them (Covid-19 and bats) even with a sample of 15 000 Chinese participants (Lu et al 2021).…”

Bats in Folklore and Culture: A Review of Historical Perceptions around the World

“…In southwest Asia, bat folklore has been documented between Iran, India, and Myanmar [25][26][27]. In southwest Asia, the bat is predominantly perceived as a strange, negative, and demonic animal that should be avoided.…”