Bats and the ecosystem

 

• Bats are winged mammals and 128 species of bats in India and 1200 across the world can be found.
• Humans and bats have existed together beyond the reach of memory and they play a critical role in the ecosystem that is as follows:They destroy insects in farms, fields, forests, grasslands, and around our homes including agricultural pests and disease-causing mosquitoes by eating them up.
• Some bats also pollinate flowers, sip nectars, and spread the seeds of many important trees including a wide variety of guava, banana, mango, and other fruits, etc. 
• Evidence from the study has claimed that one species of bat prevented the loss of 2,900 tons of rice per year or the meals of 26,200 people annually by simply providing pest bio-control. 
• Excrements of bats known as guano are widely used as fertilizers for agricultural crops as they are rich in phosphorous and nitrogen.
• In India, there is no study on the roles played by bats in the ecosystem. Despite the above-mentioned roles, bats have always remained misunderstood species.