Study on dietary composition and pest control roles of ten sympatric insectivorous bat species
Received date: 2025-03-06
Accepted date: 2025-09-01
Online published: 2025-09-01
As efficient nocturnal predators, the quantitative assessment of pest control services of insectivorous bats has become a research focus. Accurately analyzing the proportion of agricultural pests in bat diets, particularly comparing dietary differences among different bat guilds with distinct foraging habitat preferences in heterogeneous agricultural landscapes, is crucial for evaluating their pest control services. We used insectivorous bats in the heterogeneous agricultural landscapes of Pu’er City, Yunnan Province as research subjects. Using DNA metabarcoding technology, we systematically analyzed the dietary composition and pest proportion in three bat foraging guilds: open-space foragers, narrow-space foragers and edge-space foragers. The correlation between the insect composition in bat diets and the availability of food resources in their environments was examined. The results showed that the most common insect order among the 10 species of insectivorous bats was Lepidoptera, accounting for 73.1% of the total insects. The proportion of pests in the dietary composition of insectivorous bats was more than 88.7%. There was a significant correlation between insect order composition in bat diets and environmental resources for all three guilds. The proportion of pests in the dietary composition of open space foraging guild was more than 85.0%. The highest diversity was found at the order level in the dietary composition of narrow-space foraging guild. The edge-space foraging guild exhibited a specialized predation pattern on agricultural pests, dominated overwhelmingly by Lepidoptera (99.13%). This study provides a detailed analysis of dietary composition and pest proportions among three foraging guilds in heterogeneous landscapes, confirming the effectiveness of insectivorous bats in pest control. The findings not only offer direct evidence for bats’ pest control functions in the ecosystem but also provide scientific basis for bat biodiversity conservation.
Qiang QU , Li WANG , Hui WU , Jiang FENG . Study on dietary composition and pest control roles of ten sympatric insectivorous bat species[J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2026 , 46(2) : 209 -219 . DOI: 10.16829/j.slxb.151075
| Aizpurua O， Budinski I， Georgiakakis P， Gopalakrishnan S， Iba?ez C， Mata V， Rebelo H， Russo D， Szodoray?Parádi F， Zhelyazkova V， Zrncic V， Gilbert T， Alberdi A，2018. Agriculture shapes the trophic niche of a bat preying on multiple pest arthropods across Europe：evidence from DNA metabarcoding［J］.Molecular Ecology，27（3）：815?825. DOI：10.1111/mec.14474 . | |
| Alberdi A， Gilbert M T P，2019. A guide to the application of Hill numbers to DNA‐based diversity analyses［J］. Molecular Ecology Resources，19（4）：804?817. DOI：10.1111/1755-0998. 13014 . | |
| Ancillotto L， Borrello M， Caracciolo F， Dartora F， Ruberto M， Rummo R， Scaramella C， Odore A， Garonna A P， Russo D，2024. A bat a day keeps the pest away：bats provide valuable protection from pests in organic apple orchards［J］.Journal for Nature Conservation，78：126558. DOI：10.1016/j.jnc.2024.126558 . | |
| Bhalla I S， Aguirre‐Gutiérrez J， Whittaker R J，2023. Batting for rice：the effect of bat exclusion on rice in North?East India［J］.Agriculture，Ecosystems & Environment，341：108196. DOI：10.1016/J.AGEE.2022.108196 . | |
| Bolger A M， Lohse M， Usadel B，2014. Trimmomatic：a flexible trimmer for Illumina sequence data［J］.Bioinformatics，30（15）：2114?2120. DOI：10.1093/bioinformatics/btu170 . | |
| Na Borray?Escalante， Pérez?Torres J， Castro?Benítez M，2022. Nutritional Ecology of Carollia perspicillata（Chiroptera：Phyllostomidae）：relationship between the preference and the nutritional content of fruits［J］.Acta Chiropterologica，24：177?185. DOI：10.3161/15081109ACC2022.24.1.014 | |
| Boyles J G， Cryan P M， Mccracken G F， Kunz T H，2011. Economic importance of bats in agriculture［J］.Science，332（6025）：41?42. DOI：10.1126/science.1201366 . | |
| Brown D S， Burger R， Cole N， Vencatasamy D， Clare E L， Montazam A， Symondson W O C，2014. Dietary competition between the alien Asian musk shrew（Suncus murinus）and a re‐introduced population of Telfair’s skink（Leiolopisma telfairii）［J］.Molecular Ecology，23（15）：3695?3705. DOI：10.1111/mec.12445 | |
| Chang Y， Song S， Li A， Zhang Y， Li Z， Xiao Y， Jiang T， Feng J， Lin A，2019. The roles of morphological traits，resource variation and resource partitioning associated with the dietary niche expansion in the fish‐eating bat Myotis pilosus ［J］.Molecular Ecology，28（11）：2944?2954. DOI：10.1111/mec.15127 . | |
| Coutts R A， Fenton M B， Glen E，1973. Food intake by captive Myotis lucifugus and Eptesicus fuscus（Chiroptera：Vespertilionidae）［J］.Journal of Mammalogy，54（4）：985?990. DOI：10.2307/1379098 . | |
| Deagle B E， Thomas A C， Mcinnes J C， Clarke L J， Vesterinen E J， Clare E L， Kartzinel T R， Eveson J P，2018. Counting with DNA in metabarcoding studies：How should we convert sequence reads to dietary data？［J］.Molecular Ecology，28（2）：391?406. DOI：10.1111/mec.14734 . | |
| Denzinger A， Schnitzler H U，2013. Bat guilds，a concept to classify the highly diverse foraging and echolocation behaviors of microchiropteran bats［J］.Frontiers in Physiology，4：164. DOI：10.3389/fphys.2013.00164 . | |
| Edgar R C，2010. Search and clustering orders of magnitude faster than blast［J］.Bioinformatics，26（19）：2460?2461.DOI：10.1093/bioinformatics/btq461 . | |
| Folmer O， Black M， Hoeh W， Lutz R， Vrijenhoek R，1994. DNA primers for amplification of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I from diverse metazoan invertebrates［J］.Molecular Marine Biology and Biotechnology，3（5）：294?299.DOI：10.4028/www.scientific.net/DDF.7.460 . | |
| Foster Z S， Sharpton T J， Grünwald N J，2017. Metacoder：An R package for visualization and manipulation of community taxonomic diversity data［J］. PLoS Computational Biology，13（2）：e1005404. DOI：10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005404 . | |
| Froidevaux J S， Louboutin B， Jones G J，2017. Does organic farming enhance biodiversity in Mediterranean vineyards？A case study with bats and arachnids［J］.Agriculture，Ecosystems & Environment，249：112?122.DOI：10.1016/j.agee. 2017.08.012 . | |
| Jung K， Molinari J， Kalko E K，2014. Driving factors for the evolution of species?specific echolocation call design in new world free?tailed bats（Molossidae）［J］.PLoS ONE，9（1）：e85279. DOI：10.1371/journal.pone.0085279 . | |
| Kolkert H， Smith R， Rader R， Reid N，2021. Insectivorous bats provide significant economic value to the Australian cotton industry［J］.Ecosystem Services，49：101280. DOI：1016/J.ECOSER.2021.101280 . | |
| Kunz T H， Braun De Torrez E， Bauer D， Lobova T， Fleming T H，2011. Ecosystem services provided by bats［J］. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences，1223（1）：1?38. DOI：10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06004 . | |
| Kunz T H， Stern A A，1995. Maternal investment and post?natal growth in bats［J］.Ecology，Evolution and Behaviour of Bats，123?138. DOI：10.1093/oso/9780198549451.003.0008 . | |
| Lee Y F， Kuo Y M， Chu W C， Lin Y H，2020. Perch use by flycatching Rhinolophus formosae in relation to vegetation structure［J］. Journal of Mammalogy，101（2）：455?463. DOI：10.1093/jmammal/gyz213 . | |
| Librán?Embid F， De Coster G， Metzger J P，2017. Effects of bird and bat exclusion on coffee pest control at multiple spatial scales［J］.Landscape Ecology，32：1907?1920.DOI：10.1007/s10980-017-0555-2 . | |
| Linden V M， Grass I， Joubert E， Tscharntke T， Weier S M， Taylor P J，2019. Ecosystem services and disservices by birds，bats and monkeys change with macadamia landscape heterogeneity［J］.Journal of Applied Ecology，56（8）：2069?2078. DOI：10.1111/1365-2664.13424 . | |
| Lothian A J， Hoye G A，2023. Emergence patterns at a non?breeding eastern bent?winged bat（Miniopterus orianae oceanensis）roost in New South Wales［J］.Australian Mammalogy，45（3）：361?368. DOI：10.1071/AM22023 . | |
| Luo B， Leiser?Miller L， Santana S E， Zhang L， Liu T， Xiao Y， Liu Y， Feng J，2019. Echolocation call divergence in bats：a comparative analysis［J］.Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology，73（11）：154. DOI：10.1007/s00265-019-2766-9 . | |
| Mago? T， Salzberg S L，2011. FLASH：fast length adjustment of short reads to improve genome assemblies［J］.Bioinformatics，27（21）：2957?2963. DOI：10.1093/bioinformatics/btr507 . | |
| Maine J J， Boyles J G，2015. Bats initiate vital agroecological interactions in corn［J］.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences，112（40）：12438?12443.DOI：10.1073/pnas. 1505413112 . | |
| Maas B， Karp D S， Bumrungsri S， Darras K， Gonthier D， Huang J C C， Lindell C A， Maine J J， Mestre L， Michel N L， Morrison E B， Perfecto I， Philpott S M， ?ekercio?lu ? H， Silva R M， Taylor P J， Tscharntke T， Bael S A V， Whelan C J， Williams?Guillén K，2016. Bird and bat predation services in tropical forests and agroforestry landscapes［J］.Biological Reviews，91（4）：1081?1101.DOI：10.1111/brv.12211 . | |
| Miya M， Sato Y， Fukunaga T， Sado T， Poulsen J Y， Sato K， Minamoto T， Yamamoto S， Yamanaka H， Araki H， Kondoh M， Iwasaki W，2015. MiFish，a set of universal PCR primers for metabarcoding environmental DNA from fishes：detection of more than 230 subtropical marine species［J］.Royal Society Open Science，2（7）：150088. DOI：10.1098/rsos.150088 . | |
| Murray D C， Coghlan M L， Bunce M，2015. From benchtop to desktop：important considerations when designing amplicon sequencing workflows［J］.PLoS ONE，10（4）：e0124671. DOI：10.1371/journal.pone.0124671 . | |
| Polyakov A Y， Weller T J， Tietje W D，2019. Remnant trees increase bat activity and facilitate the use of vineyards by edge?space bats［J］.Agriculture，Ecosystems & Environment，281：56?63. DOI：10.1016/j.agee.2019.05.008 . | |
| Puig?Montserrat X， Torre I， López?Baucells A， Guerrieri E， Monti M M， Ràfols?García R， Ferrer X， Gisbert D， Flaquer C，2015. Pest control service provided by bats in mediterranean rice paddies：linking agroecosystems structure to ecological functions［J］.Mammalian Biology，80（3）：237?245. DOI：10.1016/j.mambio.2015.03.008 . | |
| Rodrigues L， Palmeirim J M，2008. Migratory behaviour of the Schreiber’s bat：when，where and why do cave bats migrate in a Mediterranean region？［J］. Journal of Zoology，274（2）：116?125. DOI：10.1111/j.1469-7998.2007.00361.x . | |
| Rodríguez?San Pedro A， Allendes J L， Beltrán C， Chaperon P N， Saldarriaga?Cordoba M M， Silva A X， Grez A A，2020. Quantifying ecological and economic value of pest control services provided by bats in a vineyard landscape of central Chile［J］.Agriculture，Ecosystems & Environment，302：107063. DOI：10.1016/j.agee.2020.107063 . | |
| Rodríguez?San Pedro A， Rodríguez?Herbach C， Allendes J L， Chaperon P N， Beltrán C A， Grez A A，2019. Responses of aerial insectivorous bats to landscape composition and heterogeneity in organic vineyards［J］.Agriculture，Ecosystems & Environment，277：74?82. DOI：10.1016/j.agee.2019.03.009 . | |
| Schnitzler H U， Moss C F， Denzinger A，2003. From spatial orientation to food acquisition in echolocating bats［J］.Trends in Ecology & Evolution，18（8）：386?394. DOI：10.1016/S0169-5347（03）00185-X . | |
| Siemers B M， Schnitzler H U，2004. Echolocation signals reflect niche differentiation in five sympatric congeneric bat species［J］.Nature，429（6992）：657?661. DOI：10.1038/nature02547 . | |
| Sierra?Durán C， Torres?Alcántara á， López?Baucells A， Medellín R A，2025. Bats over rice：assessing the contribution of insectivorous bats to pest suppression in Mexican rice fields［J］.Agriculture，Ecosystems & Environment，383：109503. DOI：10.1016/j.agee.2025.109503 . | |
| Troxell S A， Holderied M W， Pētersons G， Voigt C C，2019. Nathusius’ bats optimize long?distance migration by flying at maximum range speed［J］.Journal of Experimental Biology，222（4）：jeb176396. DOI：10.1242/jeb.176396 . | |
| Tuneu‐Corral C， Puig?Montserrat X， Riba‐Bertolín D， Russo D， Rebelo H， Cabeza M， López?Baucells A，2023. Pest suppression by bats and management strategies to favour it：a global review［J］.Biological Reviews，98（5）：1564?1582. DOI：10.1111/BRV.12967 . | |
| Wang Q， Feng J， Wu H， Jiang T，2024. Insectivorous bats provide more pest suppression services than disservices?a case study in China［J］.Biological Control，188：105435. DOI：10.1016/j.biocontrol.2023.105435 . | |
| Weier S M， Linden V M， Hammer A， Grass I， Tscharntke T， Taylor P J，2021. Bat guilds respond differently to habitat loss and fragmentation at different scales in macadamia orchards in South Africa［J］.Agriculture，Ecosystems & Environment，320：107588. DOI：10.1016/J.AGEE.2021.107588 . | |
| Whitby M D， Kieran T J， Glenn T C， Allen C R，2020. Agricultural pests consumed by common bat species in the United States corn belt：the importance of DNA primer choice［J］.Agriculture，Ecosystems & Environment，303：107105.DOI：10.1016/j.agee.2020.107105 . | |
| Zhu D， Liu Y， Gong L， Si M， Wang Q， Feng J， Jiang T，2024. The consumption and diversity variation responses of agricultural pests and their dietary niche differentiation in insectivorous bats［J］. Animals，14（5）：815. DOI：10.3390/ANI1 4050815 . | |
| Zou W， Liang H， Wu P， Luo B， Zhou D， Liu W， Wu J， Fang L， Lei Y， Feng J，2022. Correlated evolution of wing morphology and echolocation calls in bats［J］.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution，10：1031548. DOI：10.3389/FEVO. 2022.1031548 . | |
| 张巍巍，2014. 昆虫家谱［M］.重庆：重庆大学出版社. |
/
| 〈 |
|
〉 |
青公网安备 63010402000199号
青ICP备05000010号-2
