Order Chiroptera is the second most diverse and abundant order of mammals with great physiological and ecological diversity. They play important ecological roles as prey and predator, arthropod suppression, seed dispersal, pollination, material and nutrient distribution, and recycle. They have great advantage and disadvantage in economic terms. The economic benefits obtained from bats include biological pest control, plant pollination, seed dispersal, guano mining, bush meat and medicine, aesthetic and bat watching tourism, and education and research. Even though bats are among gentle animals providing many positive ecological and economic benefits, few species have negative effects. They cause damage on human, livestock, agricultural crops, building, and infrastructure. They also cause airplane strike, disease transmission, and contamination, and bite humans during self-defense. Bat populations appear to be declining presumably in response to human induced environmental stresses like habitat destruction and fragmentation, disturbance to caves, depletion of food resources, overhunting for bush meat and persecution, increased use of pesticides, infectious disease, and wind energy turbine. As bats are among the most overlooked in spite of their economical and ecological importance, their conservation is mandatory. 1. Introduction The order Chiroptera is the second most diverse among mammalian orders, which exhibits great physiological and ecological diversity [1]. They form one of the largest nonhuman aggregations and the most abundant groups of mammals when measured in numbers of individuals [2]. They evolved before 52 million years ago and diversified into more than 1,232 extant species [3]. They are small, with adult masses ranging from 2？g to 1？kg; although most living bats weigh less than 50？g as adults [4]. They have evolved into an incredibly rich diversity of roosting and feeding habits. Many species of bats roost during the day time in foliage, caves, rock crevices, hollows of trees, beneath exfoliating bark, and different man-made structures [2]. During night, they become active and forage on diverse food items like insects, nectar, fruits, seeds, frogs, fish, small mammals, and even blood [3]. The forelimb of a bat is modified into a wing with elongated finger bones joined together by a thin and large (85% of the total body surface area) membrane with rich blood flow [5]. Their wing is an unusual structure in mammals enabling for active unique powered flight. Skin covering the wings of bats not only constitutes a load-bearing area that enables
References
[1]
A. M. Hutson, S. P. Mickleburgh, and P. A. Racey, Microchiropteran Bats: Global Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan, IUCN/SSC chiroptera specialist group, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, 2001.
[2]
G. Jones, D. Jacobs, T. H. Kunz, M. R. Wilig, and P. A. Racey, “Carpe Noctem: the importance of bats as bioindicators,” Endangered Species Research, vol. 8, pp. 3–115, 2009.
[3]
T. H. Kunz, E. B. de Torrez, D. Bauer, T. Lobova, and T. H. Fleming, “Ecosystem services provided by bats,” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol. 1223, no. 1, pp. 1–38, 2011.
[4]
M. B. Fenton, “Science and the conservation of bats: where to next?” Wildlife Society Bulletin, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 6–15, 2003.
[5]
J. P. Madej, L. Mikulova, A. Gorosova et al., “Skin structure and hair morphology of different body parts in the Common Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus),” Acta Zoologica, vol. 94, no. 4, pp. 478–489, 2012.
[6]
A. N. Makanya and J. P. Mortola, “The structural design of the bat wing web and its possible role in gas exchange,” Journal of Anatomy, vol. 211, no. 6, pp. 687–697, 2007.
[7]
M. S. Fujita and M. D. Tuttle, “Flying foxes (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae): threatened animals of key ecological and economic importance,” Conservation Biology, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 455–463, 1991.
[8]
E. L. P. Anthony and T. H. Kunz, “Feeding strategies of the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) in southern New Hampshire,” Ecology, vol. 58, pp. 775–786, 1977.
[9]
A. Kurta and J. O. Whitaker Jr., “Diet of the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) on the northern edge of its range,” The American Midland Naturalist, vol. 140, no. 2, pp. 280–286, 1998.
[10]
M. J. Lacki, J. S. Johnson, L. E. Dodd, and M. D. Baker, “Prey consumption of insectivorous bats in coniferous forests of north-central Idaho,” Northwest Science, vol. 81, no. 3, pp. 199–205, 2007.
[11]
M. Holderied, C. Korine, and T. Moritz, “Hemprich's long-eared bat (Otonycteris hemprichii) as a predator of scorpions: whispering echolocation, passive gleaning and prey selection,” Journal of Comparative Physiology A, vol. 197, no. 5, pp. 425–433, 2011.
[12]
D. Fukui, K. Okazaki, and K. Maeda, “Diet of three sympatric insectivorous bat species on Ishigaki Island, Japan,” Endangered Species Research, vol. 8, no. 1-2, pp. 117–128, 2009.
[13]
T. H. Kunz, “Feeding ecology of a temperate insectivorous bat (Myotis velifer),” Ecology, vol. 55, pp. 693–711, 1974.
[14]
T. H. Kunz, J. O. Whitaker, and M. D. Wadanoli, “Dietary energetics of the insectivorous Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) during pregnancy and lactation,” Oecologia, vol. 101, no. 4, pp. 407–415, 1995.
[15]
M. B. C. Hickey and M. B. Fenton, “Behavioural and thermoregulatory responses of female hoary bats, Lasiurus cinereus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae), to variations in prey availability,” Ecoscience, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 414–422, 1996.
[16]
J. O. Whitaker, “Food of the big brown bat Eptesicus fuscus from maternity colonies in Indiana and Illinois,” American Midland Naturalist, vol. 134, no. 2, pp. 346–360, 1995.
[17]
R. A. Coutts, M. B. Fenton, and E. Glen, “Food intake by captive Myotis lucifugus and Eptesicus fuscus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae),” Journal of Mammalogy, vol. 54, pp. 985–990, 1973.
[18]
A. Kurta, G. Bell, K. Nagy, and T. Kunz, “Energetics of pregnancy and lactation in free-ranging little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus),” Physiological Zoology, vol. 62, no. 3, pp. 804–818, 1989.
[19]
J. O. Whitaker and P. Clem, “Food of the evening bat Nycticeius humeralis from Indiana,” The American Midland Naturalist, vol. 127, pp. 211–217, 1992.
[20]
O. J. Schmitz and K. B. Suttle, “Effects of top predator species on direct and indirect interactions in a food web,” Ecology, vol. 82, no. 7, pp. 2072–2081, 2001.
[21]
J. R. Speakman, “The impact of predation by birds on bat populations in the British Isles,” Mammal Review, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 123–142, 1991.
[22]
M. B. Fenton, “Constraint and flexibility—bats as predators, bats as prey,” Symposia of the Zoological Society of London, vol. 67, pp. 277–289, 1995.
[23]
M. J. Daniel and G. R. Williams, “A survey of the distribution, seasonal activity and roost sites of New Zealand bats,” New Zealand Journal of Ecology, vol. 7, pp. 9–25, 1984.
[24]
G. G. Goodwin and A. M. Greenhall, “A review of the bats of Trinidad and Tobago,” Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. 122, pp. 191–301, 1961.
[25]
M. B. Fenton, I. L. Rautenbach, S. E. Smith, C. M. Swanepoel, J. Grosell, and J. van Jaarsveld, “Raptors and bats: threats and opportunities,” Animal Behaviour, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 9–18, 1994.
[26]
K. Dittmar, M. L. Porter, S. Murray, and M. F. Whiting, “Molecular phylogenetic analysis of nycteribiid and streblid bat flies (Diptera: Brachycera, Calyptratae): implications for host associations and phylogeographic origins,” Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 155–170, 2006.
[27]
T. H. Fleming and N. Muchhala, “Nectar-feeding bird and bat niches in two worlds: pantropical comparisons of vertebrate pollination systems,” Journal of Biogeography, vol. 35, no. 5, pp. 764–780, 2008.
[28]
T. H. Fleming, C. Geiselman, and W. J. Kress, “The evolution of bat pollination: a phylogenetic perspective,” Annals of Botany, vol. 104, no. 6, pp. 1017–1043, 2009.
[29]
R. S. Duncan and C. A. Chapman, “Seed dispersal and potential forest succession in abandoned agriculture in tropical Africa,” Ecological Applications, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 998–1008, 1999.
[30]
H. F. Howe and J. Smallwood, “Ecology of seed dispersal,” Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, vol. 13, pp. 201–228, 1982.
[31]
M. A. Horner, T. H. Fleming, and C. T. Sahley, “Foraging behaviour and energetics of a nectar-feeding bat, Leptonycteris curasoae (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae),” Journal of Zoology, vol. 244, no. 4, pp. 575–586, 1998.
[32]
R. Muscarella and T. H. Fleming, “The role of frugivorous bats in tropical forest succession,” Biological Reviews, vol. 82, no. 4, pp. 573–590, 2007.
[33]
I. W. Buddenhagen, “Bats and disappearing wild bananas: can bats keep commercial bananas on supermarket shelves?” Bats, vol. 26, pp. 1–6, 2008.
[34]
M. Shanahan, S. So, S. G. Compton, and R. Corlett, “Fig-eating by vertebrate frugivores: a global review,” Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, vol. 76, no. 4, pp. 529–572, 2001.
[35]
E. R. Buchler, “Food transit time in Myotis lucifugus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae),” Journal of Mammalogy, vol. 54, pp. 985–990, 1975.
[36]
J. G. Boyles, P. M. Cryan, G. F. McCracken, and T. H. Kunz, “Economic importance of bats in agriculture,” Science, vol. 332, no. 6025, pp. 41–42, 2011.
[37]
G. A. Polis, W. B. Anderson, and R. D. Holt, “Toward an integration of landscape and food web ecology: the dynamics of spatially subsidized food webs,” Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, vol. 28, pp. 289–316, 1997.
[38]
R. L. Ferreira and R. P. Martins, “Diversity and distribution of spiders associated with bat guano piles in Morrinho cave (Bahia State, Brazil),” Diversity and Distributions, vol. 4, no. 5-6, pp. 235–241, 1998.
[39]
D. B. Fenolio, G. O. Graening, B. A. Collier, and J. F. Stout, “Coprophagy in a cave-adapted salamander; the importance of bat guano examined through nutritional and stable isotope analyses,” Proceedings of the Royal Society B, vol. 273, no. 1585, pp. 439–443, 2006.
[40]
C. Parmesan, “Ecological and evolutionary responses to recent climate change,” Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, vol. 37, pp. 637–669, 2006.
[41]
M. A. McGeoch, “The selection, testing and application of terrestrial insects as bioindicators,” Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, vol. 73, no. 2, pp. 181–201, 1998.
[42]
P. B. Landres, J. Verner, and J. W. Thomas, “Ecological uses of vertebrate indicator species: a critique,” Conservation Biology, vol. 2, pp. 316–327, 1988.
[43]
C. E. Moreno, G. Sánchez-Rojas, E. Pineda, and F. Escobar, “Shortcuts for biodiversity evaluation: a review of terminology and recommendations for the use of target groups, bioindicators and surrogates,” International Journal of Environment and Health, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 71–86, 2007.
[44]
M. B. Fenton, L. Acharya, D. Audet et al., “Phyllostomid bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) as indicators of habitat disruption in the neotropics,” Biotropica, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 440–446, 1992.
[45]
P. M. Vitousek, H. A. Mooney, J. Lubchenco, and J. M. Melillo, “Human domination of Earth's ecosystems,” Science, vol. 277, no. 5325, pp. 494–499, 1997.
[46]
B. W. Keeley and M. D. Tuttle, Bats in American Bridges, vol. 4, Bat Conservation International, 1999.
[47]
G. F. McCracken, “Bats aloft: a study of high-altitude feeding,” BATS, vol. 14, pp. 7–101, 1996.
[48]
C. J. Cleveland, M. Betke, P. Federico et al., “Economic value of the pest control service provided by Brazilian free-tailed bats in south-central Texas,” Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, vol. 4, no. 5, pp. 238–243, 2006.
[49]
R. Tapper, Wildlife Watching and Tourism: A Study on the BenefIts and Risks of a Fast Growing Tourism Activity and its Impacts on Species, UNEP/CMS Secretariat, Bonn, Germany, 2006.
[50]
M. H. Reiskind and M. A. Wund, “Experimental assessment of the impacts of northern long-eared bats on ovipositing Culex (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquitoes,” Journal of Medical Entomology, vol. 46, no. 5, pp. 1037–1044, 2009.
[51]
G. F. McCracken, V. A. Brown, M. Eldridge, and J. K. Westbrook, “The use of fecal DNA to verify and quantify the consumption of agricultural pests,” Bat Research News, vol. 46, pp. 195–196, 2005.
[52]
E. L. Clare, E. E. Fraser, H. E. Braid, M. H. Fenton, and P. D. Hebert, “Species on the menu of a generalist predator, the eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis): using a molecular approach to detect arthropod prey,” Molecular Ecology, vol. 18, no. 11, pp. 2532–2542, 2009.
[53]
S. Arizaga, E. Ezcurra, E. Peters, F. R. de Arellano, and E. Vega, “Pollination ecology of Agave macroacantha (Agavaceae) in a Mexican Tropical Desert: the role of pollinators,” The American Journal of Botany, vol. 87, no. 7, pp. 1011–1017, 2000.
[54]
S. K. Godwa, R. C. Katiyar, and V. R. B. Sasfry, “Feeding value of Mahua (Madhuca indica) seed cakes in farm animals,” Indian Journal of Dairy Science, vol. 49, pp. 143–154, 1996.
[55]
N. Gallai, J.-M. Salles, J. Settele, and B. E. Vaissière, “Economic valuation of the vulnerability of world agriculture confronted with pollinator decline,” Ecological Economics, vol. 68, no. 3, pp. 810–821, 2009.
[56]
C. Hougner, J. Colding, and T. S？derqvist, “Economic valuation of a seed dispersal service in the Stockholm National Urban Park, Sweden,” Ecological Economics, vol. 59, no. 3, pp. 364–374, 2006.
[57]
G. E. Hutchinson, “Survey of existing knowledge of biogeochemistry: the biogeochemistry of vertebrate excretion,” Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. 96, pp. 1–554, 1950.
[58]
M. D. Tuttle and A. Moreno, Cave-Dwelling Bats of Northern Mexico: Their Value and Conservation Needs, Bat Conservation International, Austin, Tex, USA, 2005.
[59]
T. P. Eiting and G. F. Gunnell, “Global completeness of the bat fossil record,” Journal of Mammalian Evolution, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 151–173, 2009.
[60]
S. Mickleburgh, K. Waylen, and P. Racey, “Bats as bushmeat: a global review,” Oryx, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 217–234, 2009.
[61]
F. O. Abulude, “Determination of the chemical composition of bush meats found in Nigeria,” The American Journal of Food Technology, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 153–160, 2007.
[62]
R. K. B. Jenkins and P. A. Racey, “Bats as bushmeat in Madagascar,” Madagascar Wildlife Conservation, vol. 3, pp. 22–30, 2008.
[63]
W. D. Schleuning, “Vampire bat plasminogen activator DSPA-alpha-1 (desmoteplase): a thrombolytic drug optimized by natural selection,” Pathophysiology of Haemostasis and Thrombosis, vol. 31, pp. 118–122, 2000.
[64]
L. A. Pennisi, S. M. Holland, and T. V. Stein, “Achieving bat conservation through tourism,” Journal of Ecotourism, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 195–207, 2004.
[65]
R. Müller and R. Kuc, “Biosonar-inspired technology: goals, challenges and insights,” Bioinspiration and Biomimetics, vol. 2, pp. 146–161, 2007.
[66]
G. Bunget and S. Seelecke, “BATMAV: a 2-DOF bio-inspired flapping flight platform,” in The International Society for Optics and Photonics, vol. 7643 of Proceedings of SPIE, pp. 1–11, 2010.
[67]
H. A. Delpietro, N. Marchevsky, and E. Simonetti, “Relative population densities and predation of the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) in natural and cattle-raising areas in north-east Argentina,” Preventive Veterinary Medicine, vol. 14, no. 1-2, pp. 13–20, 1992.
[68]
K. M. Brown, R. M. Erwin, M. E. Richmond, P. A. Buckley, J. T. Tanacredi, and D. Avrin, “Managing birds and controlling aircraft in the Kennedy Airport-Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge complex: the need for hard data and soft opinions,” Environmental Management, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 207–224, 2001.
[69]
Transport Canada, Sharing the Skies: An Aviation Industry Guide to the Management of Wildlife Hazards, Transport Canada, Ottawa, Canada, 2001.
[70]
S. C. Peurach, C. J. Dove, and L. Stepko, “A decade of U.S. Air Force bat strikes,” Humboldt Wild life Care Center, vol. 3, pp. 199–207, 2009.
[71]
J. G. Parsons, D. Blair, J. Luly, and S. K. A. Robson, “Bat strikes in the Australian aviation industry,” Journal of Wildlife Management, vol. 73, no. 4, pp. 526–529, 2009.
[72]
A. M. Greenhall, “Bats: their public health importance and control with special reference to Trinidad,” in Proceedings of the 2nd Vertebrate Pest Control Conference, vol. 18, pp. 108–116, 1964.
[73]
C. H. Calisher, J. E. Childs, H. E. Field, K. V. Holmes, and T. Schountz, “Bats: important reservoir hosts of emerging viruses,” Clinical Microbiology Reviews, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 531–545, 2006.
[74]
G. Wibbelt, A. Kurth, N. Yasmum et al., “Discovery of herpesviruses in bats,” Journal of General Virology, vol. 88, no. 10, pp. 2651–2655, 2007.
[75]
M. B. Fenton, M. Davison, T. H. Kunz, G. F. McCracken, P. A. Racey, and M. D. Tuttle, “Linking bats to emerging diseases,” Science, vol. 311, no. 5764, pp. 1098–1099, 2006.
