Seed dispersal by fruit bats in Colombia generates ecosystem services
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(2020) 40:45
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Seed dispersal by fruit bats in Colombia generates ecosystem services Tatiana Enríquez-Acevedo 1
&
Jairo Pérez-Torres 2
&
Cesar Ruiz-Agudelo 3 & Andres Suarez 4,5
Accepted: 8 October 2020 # INRAE and Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract When fruit bats forage, they serve an important ecological function, such as seed dispersal. Although several authors have approached the significance of bats in generating ecosystem services, there is a gap in understanding the importance of the seed dispersal by fruit bats for ecosystems and society. To fill this gap, we considered different components, such as ecosystem service drivers, functional ecosystem services, structural ecosystem services, and ecosystem services to humans. By taking two agroecosystems from the Colombian Andean region (mixed crops and extensive livestock) as the study cases, the following methodological approach was applied: (i) sampling of frugivorous bats (driver) present in the agroecosystems; (ii) identification of plants dispersed by bats (functional ecosystem services) in each agroecosystem; (iii) identification of the uses given to the plants spread (ecosystem services to humans). Finally, the plants spread by bats were considered drivers for soil fertility as well. In line of this, this research is the first in proposing a “causality chain approach” regarding the generation of ecosystem services by focusing on bat-dispersed plants. The research highlights that the diversity in frugivorous bats, the plants spread by bats, and the number of uses made of these plants were higher in mixed crops. Keywords Functional diversity . Farms . Driver . Mixed crops . Livestock
1 Introduction There is much evidence to support that ecosystem services (ES) and agroecosystems interact strongly. On the one hand, ecosystem services boost agricultural productivity (Dale and Polasky 2007; Classen et al. 2014) and, on the other, agroecosystems provide both ES and trade-offs (Chabert and Sarthou 2020; Suarez 2012; Raudsepp-Hearne et al. 2010). Some biodiversity elements play a prominent role within this
two-way interaction in promoting ecological functions, which bring on improved productivity and yields in agriculture. Some examples are beneficial ecological functions of arthropods (Isaacs et al. 2009), birds, and bats (Maas et al. 2013; Triplett et al. 2012). The quintessential research provided by Kunz et al. (2011) highlights the importance of bats in seed dispersal, pollination, and pest control, while Boyles et al. (2011) call for the attention to the economic importance of bats in agriculture. In this
Supplementary Information The online version of this article (https:// doi.org/10.1007/s13593-020-00645-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Andres Suarez [email protected] Tatiana Enríquez-Acevedo [email protected] Jairo Pérez-Torres [email protected] Cesar Ruiz-Agudelo [email protected]
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Research Group in Natural Res
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