Bats help German farmers beat pests

Researchers in Germany found that nearly a quarter of a local bat’s diet is made up of common pests. But only with enough nearby natural areas such as wetlands to supplement their diet. Researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research and the University of Potsdam tracked 128 common noctule bats (Nyctalus noctula) in northeastern Germany over the span of three years. They attached tiny radio transmitters to the bats, each weighing less than 1.5 grams, to track their movements while foraging. The researchers found that while farms make up about 95% of the landscape in the study area, the bats only spend around 55% of their time foraging there. While natural areas like forests, grasslands, wetlands and other water bodies only made up around 0.5% of the study area, bats spent about a third of their time foraging in these areas. “If we compare the proportionate habitat use with how frequently this habitat type occurs in the landscape, it becomes clear that bats only visit agricultural areas out of necessity and clearly prefer other landscape types,” said Marit Kelling, lead author of the paper and Ph.D. student at the University of Potsdam and Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, in a statement. In order to preserve these agricultural pest control services, the authors said it is critical to maintain natural habitats around farmland.

Read more at Phys.org.