March 02, 2024| Zoological Letters |
Mahidol University and Prince of Songkla University in Thailand, along with South Dakota State University and the University of Maryland in the USA, examined long-term trends in nectarivorous bat visitation to chiropterophilous flowers in southern Thailand. Bats are crucial pollinators, but their nocturnal and volant nature makes them challenging to study, leading to a scarcity of long-term data on their populations and pollination services.
Over six years (2011-2021), the researchers mist-netted bats at five bat-pollinated plant taxa: Durio zibethinus, Musa acuminata, Oroxylum indicum, Parkia speciosa, and Sonneratia spp. The study found that Eonycteris spelaea, the most common bat species in the region, consistently visited all five plant taxa throughout the study period. However, significant declines were observed in two other important pollinators, Macroglossus minimus and M. sobrinus, with an 80% reduction in individuals netted at mangrove apple and banana flowers, respectively.
These findings suggest that E. spelaea, a large, cave-roosting species with a broad diet, is more resilient to anthropogenic changes than the smaller, foliage-roosting Macroglossus species with specialized diets. The study underscores the need for tailored conservation strategies and updated assessments of bat species in Southeast Asia.