Bats in Plantations

Why in news?

A recent study shows that tea plantations in the Western Ghats hosts less-diverse bat communities than those found in coffee estates and forests.

What are the findings of the study?

• Forests in Western Ghats have changed drastically.
• The study examined bat diet, echolocation, body size and wing morphology in different habitats in Valparai, Western Ghats.
• In Valparai tea and coffee plantations have fragmented natural forests.
• It found that tea plantations fared badly.
• Only few insectivorous bats that could adapt to highly modified habitats thrived here.
• Coffee plantations did better because of native tree presence which is required for coffee growth.
• Protected areas and forest fragments were the most ‘functionally’ rich, by being home to bats with diverse morphologies.

What is the significance of bats?

• Bats perform important ecological functions.
• They are important insect controllers, pollinators and seed-dispersers.
• Different bat species can perform these varied ecological functions due to the physical features they have evolved.
• e.g Bats with short, broad wings are better suited to plucking off large insects on the wing, in densely-vegetated patches like the forests of the Ghats.

What should be done?

• Tea plantations will never be as rich for wildlife as coffee plantations.
• But it can be more biodiversity-friendly if small changes in land use practices is implemented.
• Bats and other fauna could benefit if tea plantations have a buffer of native trees on both sides of every river.
• Protecting existing forest fragments and extending them wherever possible could also help.

Source: The Hindu