PNAS：蝙蝠对农田的益处

摘要 : 美国南伊利诺伊大学科研人员报告说，蝙蝠通过抑制农作物害虫从而为农业提供了宝贵的服务。

美国南伊利诺伊大学科研人员报告说，蝙蝠通过抑制农作物害虫从而为农业提供了宝贵的服务。蝙蝠捕食许多农作物害虫，而且被认为通过抑制害虫而为农民每年节省数以十亿计的美元。然而，这种估计是建立在关于蝙蝠的生态影响的未经检验的假设之上的，蝙蝠对行栽作物的真实影响尚未得到直接的研究。Josiah Maine和Justin Boyles进行了一项大田实验，在夜间，农作物田块在夜间被封闭，把蝙蝠挡在外边，同时让蝙蝠能够进入临近的田块。玉米螟蛉的幼虫是一种主要的玉米害虫，在封闭的田块中，这种害虫的丰富程度比蝙蝠能进入的田块多将近60%。与蝙蝠能进入的田块相比，屏蔽蝙蝠还导致了每个穗被破坏的谷粒数量多了50%以上，并且叶片的损伤也显著更高。此外，屏蔽蝙蝠既增加了有真菌生长的穗的比例，又增加了伏马菌素的浓度。伏马菌素是一种真菌毒素，它会对牲畜构成严重的健康风险。这组作者估计，仅仅对于玉米而言，蝙蝠提供的害虫抑制可能就价值超过10亿美元，而抑制真菌生长和抑制毒素提供了额外的价值。这些结果提示了保护在世界许多地方受到威胁的食虫蝙蝠的重要性。

原文链接：

Bats initiate vital agroecological interactions in corn

原文摘要：

In agroecosystems worldwide, bats are voracious predators of crop pests and may provide servICEs to farmers worth billions of U.S. dollars. However, such valuations make untested assumptions about the ecological effect of bats in agroecosystems. Specifically, estimates of the value of pest suppression services assume bats consume sufficient numbers of crop pests to affect impact pest reproduction and subsequent damage to crops. Corn is an essential crop for farmers, and is grown on more than 150 million hectares worldwide. Using large exclosures in corn fields, we show that bats exert sufficient pressure on crop pests to suppress larval densities and damage in this cosmopolitan crop. In addition, we show that bats suppress pest-associated fungal growth and mycotoxin in corn. We estimate the suppression of herbivory by insectivorous bats is worth more than 1 billion USD globally on this crop alone, and bats may further benefit farmers by indirectly suppressing pest-associated fungal growth and toxic compounds on corn. Bats face a variety of threats globally, but their relevance as predators of insects in ubiquitous corn-dominated landscapes underlines the economic and ecological importance of conserving biodiversity.

doi: 10.1073/PNAS.1505413112

作者：Josiah J. Maine 和 J

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