EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Chiroptophobia and 
Why You Should Get Over It

Unidentified bat species, Kaziranga National Park
Assam, India

Explanation:   Do you suffer from chiroptophobia?  No, this isn't a fear of chiropractors.  It is a fear of chiropterans ... "bats."  

Chiroptophobia is shared by many people and cultures ... although sometimes it seems rather acute in Western societies with its long Hollywood history of portraying bats as blood-sucking, vampiric forms that swoop out of the night in direct line to your neck.  
 

This wonderful, unidentified bat spent an evening exploring our rooms at
a lodge near Kaziranga National Park in northeast India, scooping up flying insects.  
And no, I didn't awaken with two fang marks on my neck...
 

Yes, it may be useful to be aware of bats in your environment, as occasionally they can carry rabies and other diseases.  

But it is more the case that bats provide so many beneficial services that they should be respected and conserved for our own benefit and that of the ecosystems in which they reside.

In reality, most bats feed on insects, small vertebrates, or even fruits and nectar.   

Many bats are prolific insectivores and may play key roles in controlling outbreaks of insect pests, including mosquitoes.  

Some bats are key pollinators of plants in desert and tropical environments.  They can also serve as key dispersers of flowering plants, such as for a threatened West African hardwood tree.  

Bats also can fly a good 15-20 km to feed at night, returning to their daytime lair (hibernaculum) ... and along the way, as they defecate, they disperse nutrients throughout the ecosystem.  This function can enhance health of the ecosystem by adding to nutrient cycling and associated ecological processes.  

So if you suffer from chiroptophobia, consider all the good provided by these wondrous creatures of the dark ... and get over it!

Information:
     Federico, P., T. G. Hallam, G. F. McCracken, S. T. Purucker, W. E. Grant, A. N. Correa-Sandoval, J. K. Westbrook, R. A. Medellín, C. J. Cleveland, C. G. Sansone, J. D. López, Jr, M. Betke, A. Moreno-Valdez, and T. H. Kunz. 2008. Brazilian free-tailed bats as insect pest regulators in transgenic and conventional cotton crops. Ecological Applications 18(4):826-837.
     Marcot, B. G. 1996. An ecosystem context for bat management: a case study of the interior Columbia River Basin, U.S.A. Pp. 19-36 in: R. M. R. Barclay and R. M. Brigham, eds. Bats and forests symposium: October 19-21, 1995, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. B.C. Ministry of Forests, Victoria, B.C., Canada.
     Medellin, R. A., and S. Walker. 2003. Nightly wings, nectar sips. Endangered Species Bulletin 28(3):16-17.
     Muchhalan, N., and J. D. Thomson. 2010. Fur versus feathers: Pollen delivery by bats and hummingbirds and consequences for pollen production. American Naturalist 175(6):717-726.