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In light of the (continued) bad rep that #bats are receiving due to #Covid_19, I think it's of critical importance to remind ourselves why bats are necessary parts of a healthy ecosystem, and how they benefit humans directly. A thread 👇👇
1. Let's start by recognizing that, among all mammals, bats are 2nd only to rodents in species richness. There are > 1,300 species of bats recognized currently. This comprises almost 1/5 of the world's mammal species, with >175 genera arranged in 20 families. So, lots of bats.
2. For so many bats to exist, they had to undergo “niche partitioning” so they wouldn’t outcompete each other for resources. So, each species evolved differences in form, or the way they look, & function, or the ‘way of life’ they follow, incl. where they are & what they eat
3. Most bats eat insects, many eat fruit or floral nectar, a handful feed on other small mammals. Now seems like a good time to mention that, contrary to what most people think, only 3 out of over 1300 species of bats feed on blood, and those 3 species are only in the tropics.
4. Bats are considered to be keystone species, or species on which many other species in an ecosystem largely depend. One reason is due to their role as bioindicators. This means that the status of bats can be used to indicate the overall status or health of the environment
5. Perhaps the main reason bats are keystone species is bc they provide ecosystem services: benefits provided for the environment, and in turn, people (e.g., food security, disease reduction). W/ bats, most services are interactions btwn bats and plants that we depend on
6. The main indirect bat-plant interaction that benefits people is pest suppression, or the process by which bats consume the insect pests that feed on our plants. A colony of 1 million Mexican free-tailed bats could consume up to 8.5 metric tons of insects in a single night!
7. By acting as biocontrol, bats save farmers millions, if not billions, of dollars every year by lessening the amount of pesticides they need to apply to their plants (and our food).
8. The bats that evolved to eat fruit help us, too, but in a different way: they feed on fruits, then spit or poop out the fruit seeds while flying away, helping to spread and germinate seeds. Bats that feed on nectar pollinate those flowers, aiding directly in plant reproduction
9. There are accounts of bats playing major roles in reforesting entire tracts of land that were damaged from fires or human activity. Entire cultures are dependent on eating and exporting fruits that are almost entirely dependent on bats for pollination or dispersal.
10. Oh, and tequila? Thanks bats for that one. They pollinate the tequila plant and are responsible for your quarantine margarita.
11. So, let's think about why bats seem to make the news in a negative light. There's a lot going on behind the scenes, while you sleep, in the dark, and it's easy to miss the connection between what's happening out there and the food and drinks on the table in front of you.
12. As our population continues to increase and we continue to encroach into wildlife spaces, contact with wildlife is bound to increase. By learning how other species live, and how they (often positively) affect our own species, we could do this planet a lot of good.
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