Experts Study the Diet of Indiana Bats and Northern Long-Eared Bats To Keep Them From Extinction

Scientists have revealed the diets of endangered Indiana bats and vulnerable northern long-eared bats, offering information to help manage both species and their habitats more efficiently.

Bats' midnight snacks reveal clues for managing endangered species

(Photo : Clément Falize/Unsplash)

Saving bats is thus possibly a more difficult task than saving other species. After all, the cryptic insects only emerge at night and are very active, making tracking their movements and behavior challenges, as per ScienceDaily.

University of Illinois and Brown University scientists uncover the diets of endangered Indiana bats and vulnerable northern long-eared bats in a first-of-its-kind study, offering hints to efficiently manage both species and their habitats.

This was a comprehensive study of these two endangered species in areas where they co-occur. That has never been done before.

This work provides us with a much greater understanding of how bats not only cohabit, but also benefit our forests, and how we can manage the forest to offer better habitats for bats says Joy O'Keefe, an assistant professor and wildlife extension specialist in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at Illinois.

Previous studies into the diets of these bats relied on older, outmoded methods that may have missed crucial prey species. And no study has yet looked into how the two species divide their prey resources in order to cohabit.

When two closely related species share the same habitat, it suggests they're presumably designed similarly and require similar areas to dwell and food.

Tim Divoll, a data scientist in Brown's Center for Computation & Visualization who finished his Ph.D. study under O'Keefe, adds, "Our job was to figure it out."

Over four years, Divoll and O'Keefe trapped bats and collected fecal samples in two Indiana locations: a big managed forest and an area with minor woodland patches near a major airport.

The researchers used DNA in bat excrement to identify insect prey and added a size categorization as a more practical method of looking at insect prey.

When a bat observes two moths that are the same size and have the same flying pattern, the bat cannot tell which species they are.

Divoll claims it'll devour whatever moth it can grab. I wanted to employ an approach that was more in line with how bats view their prey.

We tend to believe that genetic categories of prey are the most important, yet bats do not study taxonomy.

However, taxonomic identification may be quite exciting. For example, perhaps some of the insects in the dataset require certain host plants.

We want to assist managers in recognizing this so that they may manage for a variety of plant kinds that host a variety of insects, resulting in healthier forests and more food possibilities for bats.

Overall, the two bat species consumed many of the same insects, such as moths, beetles, crickets, wasps, mosquitoes, and others.

They also consumed a large number of agricultural and forest pests, demonstrating their role as producers of valuable ecosystem services.

Surprisingly, the smaller of the two, northern long-eared bats, took up significantly bigger prey pieces. The northern is a gleaner, which means it picks prey from surfaces at least a portion of the time, according to the study.

According to O'Keefe, bats that glean would have a better chance of detecting bigger insects on bark or leaves.

In contrast, aerial hawkers, or bats that catch prey in mid-flight, will identify and pursue anything moving in the air, huge or little.

The modest variation in prey size preference and eating method may be sufficient for the bats to avoid direct competition, but the researchers cannot be certain based on this study alone.

Read more: White-Nose Syndrome: Devastating Disease Found in Chinese Bats

Things You Can Do To Save Endangered Species

The first step in saving endangered species is understanding how fascinating and valuable they are. Our natural environment supplies us with several essential services, such as clean air and water, food and pharmaceutical sources, and commercial, aesthetic, and recreational advantages, as per the Endangered species Coalition.

To avoid bringing wild animals into your home, secure rubbish in shelters or cans with locking lids, feed pets indoors and lock pet entrances at night.

Reduce the amount of water you use in your house and yard to provide animals who live in or near water a greater chance of survival.

Every year, millions of birds perish as a result of accidents with windows. You may assist minimize the number of crashes simply by putting decals on the windows of your house and business.

Attracting native insects such as bees and butterflies can aid in the pollination of your plants. The expansion of non-native species has had a significant influence on native populations all over the world.

Invasive species fight for resources and habitat with native species. They can also feed on native species directly, driving them to extinction.

Overseas travel may be thrilling and enjoyable, and everyone desires a keepsake. However, some souvenirs are produced from endangered species.

Avoid supporting the illicit wildlife trade, which includes tortoiseshell, ivory, and coral.

Be wary of products containing fur from tigers, polar bears, sea otters, and other endangered wildlife, crocodile skin, live monkeys or apes, most live birds including parrots, macaws, cockatoos, and finches, some live snakes, turtles, and lizards, some orchids, cacti, and cycads, and medicinal products derived from rhinos, tigers,

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