Nutritional quality of Metamysidopsis insularis Brattegard (Crustacea: Mysidacea)

In natural conditions the mysid Metamysidopsis insularis is commonly found in the littoral lagoon of Margarita Island (Venezuela). It is used as live food in the marine fish culture. However, its nutritional quality is not well documented. In the present study we analysed the nutritional value (total protein, carbohydrate and lipids profile) of M. insularis. The mysids were collected in La Restinga lagoon (Margarita Island, Venezuela). Levels of total proteins, lipids and carbohydrates were 700 ± 28.5, 160 ± 13.9 and 20 ± 0.90 g kg^?1 respectively. The lipids classes were 427 ± 2, 106 ± 98, 287 ± 113 and 179 ± 87 for phospholipids, triglycerides, cholesterol and cholesterol esters respectively. The fatty acids profile, determined by gas chromatography, showed important concentration of fatty acids for the metabolism of marine organism, such as 16:0, 18:0, 18:2n‐6, 18:3n‐3, 18:4‐3, 20:5n‐3 and 22:6n‐3; attaining levels of 27.49% in PUFA n‐3 and 2.92% in n‐6. The relation of eicosapentaenoic acid/docosahexaenoic acid was 2.1 ± 0.15. The results support the use of M. insularis as food for species of fish and crustaceans under culture conditions.     

Bats and their vital ecosystem services: a global review

Bats play crucial ecosystem services as seed dispersers, pollinators, controllers of insects, and nutrient recyclers. However, there has not been a thorough global review evaluating these roles in bats across all biogeographical regions of the world. We reviewed the literature published during the last two decades and identified 283 relevant studies: 78 dealt with the control of potential insect pests by bats, 80 related to the suppression of other arthropods, 60 on the dispersal of native or endemic seeds, 11 dealt with the dispersal of seeds of introduced plants, 29 on the pollination of native or endemic plants, 1 study on pollination of introduced plants, and 24 on the use of guano as fertilizer. Our literature search showed that queries combining the terms “seed dispersal,” “insectivorous bats,” “nectarivorous bats,” “use of guano,” and “ecosystem services” returned 577 studies, but half were experimental in nature. We found that the evaluation of ecosystem services by bats has been mostly conducted in the Neotropical and Palearctic regions. To detect differences across relevant studies, and to explain trends in the study of ecosystem services provided by bats, we performed generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) fitted with a Poisson distribution to analyze potential differences among sampling methods. We identified 409 bat species that provide ecosystem services, 752 insect species consumed by bats and 549 plant species either dispersed or pollinated by bats. Our review summarizes the importance of conserving bat populations and the ecological services they provide, which is especially important during the current pandemic.