Light up the Bat-Signal, tropical forests need help!

We are losing tropical forests at an alarming rate, which is a serious concern.?

Scientists know that seed dispersers play a vital role in maintaining forest health. These include fruit-eating, seed-dispersing bats that fly from place to place in search of food, releasing feces often loaded with seeds — providing a source of new life and some fertilizer to stimulate first growth

Attracting these bats to degraded landscapes and aiding in tropical forest restoration efforts has long been an alluring prospect for conservationists: potentially a cheaper, less labor-intensive technique.

Researchers have experimented with a variety of seed disperser lures for decades, but a recent project may show an efficient, less costly way forward. They successfully utilized synthetic chemical compounds derived from the fruit of Piper plants to attract wild fruit-eating bats.

In the past, researchers have explored other ways of attracting seed dispersers to deforested areas, deploying artificial bird nests and roosts and making sounds to attract a variety of seed-dispersing species to employ them as tropical forest restorers.

Proving that a natural or chemical attractant can lure bats or other seed-dispersing animals to a location is one thing. Determining whether or not that wildlife is sufficiently dispersing seeds to help regrow a forest is quite a different matter, requiring long-term observation.

Maximizing reforestation may also require a mix of techniques depending on locale and situation, including chemical or natural attractants, plus the planting of trees that attract bats, birds and other seed dispersers.

However, the new study provides a good initial step by demonstrating the potential of these attraction methods in the field.

In June 2023, thanks to BioMundi′s study, the Latin American and Caribbean Network for the Conservation of Bats (RELCOM in Spanish) identified and certified 63 species of bats in the Mamoní Valley, the site with the largest number of bats in Panama.

#Bats #Reforestation #Research #Seeddispersers