We don’t normally think of bats as important animals to save because there seems to be so many of them, and that they’re more of an annoyance rather than a really important part of the ecosystem. Yet, in the United States, bats are currently in some danger and conservationists and other individuals are swinging into action to save them. You might ask yourself why they’d bother, but the truth is that all animals and plants do generally play an important role in the ecosystem and bats, as it turns out, are hugely important and they can even generate a substantial amount of economic value. We were highlighted to this piece of news by this article.
Bats are what is known as apex predators, which means they lie at the top of the food pyramid and play an integral role in managing the activity of the other creatures below it in the pyramid. Bats generally eat insects and help control the insect population. Fruit bats in particular are also prolific pollinators - the seeds that they drop after eating fruit help fruit trees to spread and indeed some plants are so dependent on these pollinators that their seeds can only become viable after they have been partially digested by animals. Bats also excrete a nitrogen and phosphorus-rich guano that makes excellent natural fertilizer, and is so significant that it has been cited as the main driver of Peru’s economy in the mid 19th century (look up Wikipedia on Peru’s Guano Era here).
What seems to be affecting bats in the United States right now is a disease known as white noise syndrome which is caused by a fungus. The fungal infection has killed 90% of bats in some areas and the US Forest Service is so alarmed about the situation that they are recommending cavers suspend their caving activities until the situation is resolved, even though there isn’t any conclusive evidence linking human activity to the spread of the disease. This makes sense because, as we have already noted, millions of dead bats means that millions more insects are not eaten which could in turn threaten the crops around the affected areas of the United States.
We think it’s great the US Forest Service is being so proactive about the plight facing bats in the United States, and we think it’s also a great cautionary note to everyone that all animals and plants, whether we think of them or not, do have a very significant role in the ecosystem and are equally deserving of conservation. This is sometimes forgotten as we tend to focus on animals that we find cute and can relate to.
