Bats limit insects in a neotropical agroforestry system

Science. 2008 Apr 4;320(5872):70. doi: 10.1126/science.1152944.

Abstract

Exclosure experiments have demonstrated the effects of bird predation on arthropods. In a Mexican coffee plantation, we excluded foliage-gleaning bird and bat predators from coffee plants. Effects of bats and birds were additive. In the dry season, birds reduced arthropods in coffee plants by 30%; birds and bats together reduced arthropods by 46%. In the wet season, bats reduced arthropods by 84%, whereas birds reduced them by only 58%. We conclude that previous "bird" exclosure experiments may have systematically underestimated the effects of bats.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Arthropods
  • Birds*
  • Chiroptera* / physiology
  • Climate*
  • Coffea*
  • Ecosystem*
  • Insecta
  • Mexico
  • Population Dynamics
  • Predatory Behavior
  • Reproduction
  • Seasons