Bird and bat predation services in tropical forests and agroforestry landscapes |
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| Authors: | Bea Maas Daniel S Karp Sara Bumrungsri Kevin Darras David Gonthier Joe C‐C Huang Catherine A Lindell Josiah J Maine Laia Mestre Nicole L Michel Emily B Morrison Ivette Perfecto Stacy M Philpott Çagan H ?ekercio?lu Roberta M Silva Peter J Taylor Teja Tscharntke Sunshine A Van Bael Christopher J Whelan Kimberly Williams‐Guillén |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Agroecology, Georg–August University, Goettingen, Germany;2. Division of Tropical Ecology and Animal Biodiversity, Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria;3. The Nature Conservancy, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.;4. Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.;5. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand;6. School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, U.S.A.;7. Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, U.S.A.;8. Southeast Asian Bat Conservation and Research Unit, Department of Biological Science, Lubbock, TX, U.S.A.;9. Integrative Biology Department, Center for Global Change and Earth Observations, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, U.S.A.;10. Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Center for Ecology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, U.S.A.;11. CREAF, Carretera de Bellaterra a l'Autònoma, s/n, Cerdanyola del Vallès,, Barcelona, Spain;12. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia, Universitat Autònoma, Carretera de Bellaterra a l'Autònoma, Barcelona, Spain;13. Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden;14. School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada;15. Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, U.S.A.;16. Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, U.S.A.;17. College of Sciences, Ko? University, Sariyer, Istanbul, Turkey;18. Programa de Pós‐Gradua??o em Ecologia e Conserva??o da Biodiversidade, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Bahia, Brazil;19. School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu‐Natal, Durban, South Africa;20. SARChI Chair on Biodiversity Value & Change and Centre for Invasion Biology, School of Mathematical & Natural Sciences, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa;21. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, U.S.A.;22. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon, Republic of Panama;23. Illinois Natural History Survey, c/o Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, U.S.A.;24. Paso Pacífico, Ventura, CA, U.S.A. |
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| Abstract: | Understanding distribution patterns and multitrophic interactions is critical for managing bat‐ and bird‐mediated ecosystem services such as the suppression of pest and non‐pest arthropods. Despite the ecological and economic importance of bats and birds in tropical forests, agroforestry systems, and agricultural systems mixed with natural forest, a systematic review of their impact is still missing. A growing number of bird and bat exclosure experiments has improved our knowledge allowing new conclusions regarding their roles in food webs and associated ecosystem services. Here, we review the distribution patterns of insectivorous birds and bats, their local and landscape drivers, and their effects on trophic cascades in tropical ecosystems. We report that for birds but not bats community composition and relative importance of functional groups changes conspicuously from forests to habitats including both agricultural areas and forests, here termed ‘forest‐agri’ habitats, with reduced representation of insectivores in the latter. In contrast to previous theory regarding trophic cascade strength, we find that birds and bats reduce the density and biomass of arthropods in the tropics with effect sizes similar to those in temperate and boreal communities. The relative importance of birds versus bats in regulating pest abundances varies with season, geography and management. Birds and bats may even suppress tropical arthropod outbreaks, although positive effects on plant growth are not always reported. As both bats and birds are major agents of pest suppression, a better understanding of the local and landscape factors driving the variability of their impact is needed. |
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| Keywords: | agricultural landscapes arthropod suppression bird and bat ecology cacao coffee ecosystem services exclosure experiments flying vertebrates food webs pest suppression |
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