Use of Fruit Essential Oils to Assist Forest Regeneration by Bats

Abstract

Frugivorous bats can be attracted with essential oils from ripe chiropterochoric fruit. We evaluated the efficiency of these oils to attract bats in degraded areas within the Atlantic Rain Forest, particularly pasture and agricultural land. We hypothesized that induction units (IUs), each containing a rubber septum impregnated with oil, would have more bat activity than their respective control units (CUs; without the oil). To test this hypothesis we monitored bat flight activity with night-vision infrared visors in eight IU and CU from August 2006 to July 2007. We also verified the probability of arrival of chiropterochoric seeds by analyzing the diet of bats captured in a neighboring forest area. Our initial hypothesis that units with odor would lead to greater bat activity was confirmed. Results indicated a rich community of fruit-eating bats, and dietary analysis revealed a huge potential for dispersion of a vast amount of seeds from different plant species at the IU. Although our study does not reveal with certainty which bat species are attracted to the oil, the flying patterns coincide with those described for the foraging behavior of fruit-eating phyllostomids. Furthermore, the fact that the bats spend more time flying around the odor source compared to flying time around CU suggest an increase in seed rain. Taken together, these results suggest that the use of essential oils from chiropterochoric fruits induces a qualitative and quantitative increase in seed dispersal in areas that otherwise would not be frequently visited by frugivorous bats.

Assessment of Attractants for Neotropical Mammals

“…Frugivorous bats are fundamental for the maintenance of biodiversity and environmental services, such as seed dispersal in Neotropical ecosystems (Bianconi et al, 2012). Based on a detailed knowledge of bat fruit interactions, substances from vegetable origin (fruits, essential oils, and floral compounds) have become a useful attractant for frugivorous bats, increasing the potential for restoration projects (Bianconi et al, 2012;Parolin et al, 2015). Our results corroborated these assumptions as all studies with frugivorous bats showed attraction for at least one substance of vegetable origin used.…”

“…The use of some substances is already well established for some mammal groups. For example, frugivorous bats are usually attracted by substances from vegetable origin such as floral compounds and essential oils (Bianconi et al, 2012;Parolin, Mikich, & Bianconi, 2015;von Helversen et al, 2000). However, the majority of substances used for specific groups and species lack replications and specific tests, are restricted to a limited number of species, and do not make use of controls (Acosta-Jamett & Simonetti, 2004;Lucherini et al, 2009;Portella, Bilski, Passos, & Pie, 2013;Trolle, 2003).…”

Scale‐dependent effects of forest restoration on Neotropical fruit bats

“…Several studies have tested novel, bat-attraction techniques, primarily focused on odiferous fruit oils (Bianconi et al 2007(Bianconi et al , 2012 and artificial tree cavity roosts (Kelm et al 2008;Reid et al 2013). Yet neither of these methods has demonstrably accelerated forest succession (Reid & Holl 2012).…”

Natural Experiment Demonstrates That Bird Loss Leads to Cessation of Dispersal of Native Seeds from Intact to Degraded Forests

“…[18], [19], [32]–[35]). The importance of vertebrate seed dispersal has been recognized by the implementation of restoration techniques which encourage dispersal, such as the planting of fruiting trees and ‘tree islands’ within degraded areas [36]–[38].…”