Bats initiate vital agroecological interactions in corn

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 suppressi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2015-10, Vol.112 (40), p.12438-12443
Main Authors: Maine, Josiah J., Boyles, Justin G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural ecosystems
Agriculture - economics
Agriculture - methods
Animals
Bats
Biodiversity
Biological Sciences
Biomass
Cereal crops
Chiroptera - physiology
Corn
Crop damage
Ecological effects
Ecology
Ecosystem
Farmers
Fungi - metabolism
Herbivory
Host-Pathogen Interactions
Larva - physiology
Moths - physiology
Mycotoxins
Mycotoxins - metabolism
Pest Control, Biological - economics
Pest Control, Biological - methods
Pests
Plant Diseases - microbiology
Plant Diseases - parasitology
Plant Leaves - growth & development
Plant Leaves - microbiology
Plant Leaves - parasitology
Predators
Predatory Behavior - physiology
Time Factors
Toxicity
Vegetables
Zea mays - growth & development
Zea mays - microbiology
Zea mays - parasitology
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1505413112