Specialized and facultative nectar-feeding bats have different effects on pollination networks in mixed fruit orchards, in Southern Thailand

Tuanjit Sritongchuay; Sara Bumrungsri

doi:10.26786/1920-7603(2016)7

Authors

Tuanjit Sritongchuay Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University
Sara Bumrungsri Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26786/1920-7603(2016)7

Abstract

Recent advances in the study of pollination networks have improved our ability to describe species interactions at the community level. In this study, we compared the abundance and network strength of facultative and obligate nectar-feeding bats to determine their roles in pollinating mixed fruit orchards. We were particularly interested in the effect of distance from forests and caves on the foraging activity of these two bat groups. For this study, we examined 10 pairs of orchards; each pair consisted of one orchard near to (< 1 km) and one orchard far from (> 7 km) the forest edge. We estimated the abundance of each bat group (nectarivorous vs. frugi-nectarivorous) using video observations to determine floral visitation rates. A pollination network was then created for each of the 20 study orchards and network strength was calculated for each bat group at each orchard. We found that nectarivorous bats showed higher abundance and network strength than frugi-nectarivorous bats. Both bat abundance and network strength were negatively correlated with distance to the nearest cave, however, only network strength was affected by distance to the forest. These results corroborate the importance of nectarivorous bats in pollinating crops within southern Thailand’s mixed fruit orchards. Higher network strength of bats near forests and caves emphasizes the role of natural habitats as pollinator sources.

References

Acharya PR, Racey PA, Sotthibandhu S, Bumrungsri S (2015) Feeding behaviour of the dawn bat (Eonycteris spelaea) promotes cross pollination of economically important plants in Southeast Asia. Journal of Pollination Ecology 15:44-50. https://doi.org/10.26786/1920-7603(2015)5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.26786/1920-7603(2015)5

Bascompte J, Jordano P, Olesen JM (2006) Asymmetric coevolutionary networks facilitate biodiversity maintenance. Science 312:431-433. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1123412 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1123412

Bonaccorso FJ, Winkelmann JR, Todd CM, Miles AC (2014) Foraging movements of epauletted fruit bats (Pteropodidae) in relation to the distribution of sycamore figs (Moraceae) in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Acta Chiropterologica 16:41-52. https://doi.org/10.3161/150811014X683255 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3161/150811014X683255

Brosi BJ, Daily GC, Ehrlich PR (2007) Bee community shifts with landscape context in a tropical countryside. Ecological Application 17:418-430. https://doi.org/10.1890/06-0029 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1890/06-0029

Bumrungsri S (1997) Roost selection of cave dwelling bats in Songkla and Satun Provinces. M. Sc. Thesis, Kasetsart University, Bangkok.[in Thai with English abstract]

Bumrungsri S, Harbit A, Benzie C, Carmouche K, Sridith K, Racey P (2008) The pollination ecology of two species of Parkia (Mimosaceae) in southern Thailand. Journal of Tropical Ecology 24:467-475. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467408005191 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467408005191

Bumrungsri S, Lang D, Harrower C, Sripaoraya E, Kitpipit K, Racey PA (2013) The dawn bat, Eonycteris spelaea Dobson (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) feeds mainly on pollen of economically important food plants in Thailand. Acta Chiropterologica, 15:95-104. https://doi.org/10.3161/150811013X667894 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3161/150811013X667894

Bumrungsri S, Sripaoraya E, Chongsiri T, Sridith K, Racey PA (2009) The Pollination ecology of Durian (Durio zibethinus, Bombacaceae) in southern thailand. Journal of Tropical Ecology 25:85-92. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467408005531 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467408005531

Bumrungsri, S (2002). The foraging ecology of the short-nosed fruit bat, Cynopterus brachyotis (Müller, 1838), in lowland dry evergreen rain forest, southeast Thailand. Doctoral dissertation, University of Aberdeen. Aberdeen.

Campbell P, Reid NM, Zubaid A, Adnan AM. Kunz TH (2006) Comparative roosting ecology of Cynopterus (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) fruit bats in peninsular Malaysia. Biotropica 38:725-734. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00203.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00203.x

Fleming TH, Geiselman C, Kress WJ (2009) The evolution of bat pollination: a phylogenetic perspective. Annual of Botany 104:1017-1043. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcp197 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcp197

Francis CM, Barrett P (2008) A field guide to the mammals of Thailand and South-East Asia. Asia Books, London,

Frick WF, Price RD, Heady III PA, Kay KM (2013) Insectivorous bat pollinates columnar cactus more effectively per visit than specialized nectar bat. American Naturalist 181:137-144. https://doi.org/10.1086/668595 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/668595

Geslin B, Gauzens B, Thébault E, et al (2013) Plant pollinator networks along a gradient of urbanisation. PLoS ONE 8:e63421. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0063421 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0063421

Greenleaf SS, Kremen C (2006) Wild bee species increase tomato production and respond differently to surrounding land use in Northern California. Biological Conservation 133:81-87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2006.05.025 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2006.05.025

Hodgkison R, Balding ST, Zubaid A, Kunz,TH (2004) Temporal ariation in the relative abundance of fruit bats (Megachiroptera: Pteropodidae) in relation to the availability of food in a lowland Malaysian rain forest. Biotropica 36:522-533. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2004.tb00347.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2004.tb00347.x

Holyoak M, Leibold MA, Mouquet N, Holt RD, Hoopes M (2005) A Framework for Large-Scale Community Ecology. In: Holyoak M, Leibold MA, Holt RD (eds) Metacommunities: spatial dynamics and ecological communities. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1-31.

Itino T, Kato M, Hotta M (1991) Pollination ecology of the two wild bananas, Musa acuminata subsp. halabanensis and M. salaccensis: chiropterophily and ornithophily. Biotropica. 151-158. https://doi.org/10.2307/2388300 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2388300

Kunz TH, Fenton MB (2003) Bat ecology. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Lobo JA, Quesada M, Stoner KE (2005) Effects of Pollination by Bats on the Mating System of Ceiba pentandra (Bombacaceae) Populations in Two Tropical Life Zones in Costa Rica. American Journal of Botany 370-376. https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.92.2.370 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.92.2.370

Marshall AG (1983) Bats, flowers and fruit: evolutionary relationships in the Old World. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 20:115-135. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.1983.tb01593.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.1983.tb01593.x

Marshall AG 1985 Old world phytophagous bats (Megachiroptera) and their food plants: A survey. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 83:351-369. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1985.tb01181.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1985.tb01181.x

Memmott J, Godfray HCJ, LaSalle J (1993) Parasitoid webs. In: Lasalle J, Gauld, ID (ed) Hymenoptera and Biodiversity. CAB International, Wallingford. pp 217-234.

Montoya JM, Pimm SL, Solé RV (2006) Ecological networks and their fragility. Nature 442: 259-264. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04927 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04927

Nathan PT, Raghuram H, Elangovan V, Karuppudurai T, Marimuthu G (2005) Bat pollination of kapok tree, Ceiba pentandra. Current Science 25:1679-81.

Quesada M, Stoner KE, Lobo JA, Herrerias-Diego Y, Palacios-Guevara C, Munguia-Rosas MA, Salazar KA, Rosas-Guerrero V (2004) Effects of forest fragmentation on pollinator activity and consequences for plant reproductive success and mating patterns in bat-pollinated Bombacaceous trees. Biotropica 36:131-138. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2004.tb00305.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2004.tb00305.x

Quesada M, Stoner KE, Rosas-guerrero V, Palacios-Guevara C, Lobo JA (2003) Effects of habitat disruption on the activity of nectarivorous bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in a dry tropical forest: implications for the reproductive success of the neotropical tree Ceiba grandiflora. Oecologia 135:400-406. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1234-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1234-3

Sekercioglu CH (2006) Increasing awareness of avian ecological function. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 21:464-471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2006.05.007 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2006.05.007

Srithongchuay T, Bumrungsri S, Sripao-Raya E (2008) The Pollination ecology of the late-successional tree, Oroxylum indicum (Bignoniaceae) in Thailand. Journal of Tropical Ecology 24:477-484. https://doi.org/10.1017/S026646740800521X DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S026646740800521X

Sritongchuay T, Kremen C, Bumrungsri S (2016) Effects of forest and cave proximity on fruit set of tree crops in tropical orchards in Southern Thailand. Journal of Tropical Ecology 32: 269-279. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467416000353 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467416000353

Stewart AB, Makowsky R, Dudash MR (2014) Differences in foraging times between two feeding guilds within Old World fruit bats (Pteropodidae) in southern Thailand. Journal of Tropical Ecology 30:249-257. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467414000042 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467414000042

Stoner KE, Quesada M, Rosas-Gurrero V, Lobo JA (2002) Effects of forest fragmentation on the colima long-nosed bat (Musonycteris harrisoni) foraging in tropical dry forest of Jalisco, Mexico. Biotropica 34:462-467. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2002.tb00562.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2002.tb00562.x

Wahala S, Huang P (2005) Foraging distance in the stingless bee Trigona thoracica. In: Harrison RD (ed) Proceedings of the CTFS-AA International Field, pp 71-74.

Zurbuchen A, Landert L, Klaiber J, Müller A, Hein S, Dorn S (2010) Maximum foraging ranges in solitary bees: only few individuals have the capability to cover long foraging distances. Biological Conservation 143:669-676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2009.12.003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2009.12.003