Bats limit insects in a neotropical agroforestry system |
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Authors: | Williams-Guillén Kimberly Perfecto Ivette Vandermeer John |
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Institution: | School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. kimwg@umich.edu |
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Abstract: | Exclosure experiments have demonstrated the effects of bird predation on arthropods. In a Mexican coffee plantation, we excluded foliage-gleaning bird and bat predators from coffee plants. Effects of bats and birds were additive. In the dry season, birds reduced arthropods in coffee plants by 30%; birds and bats together reduced arthropods by 46%. In the wet season, bats reduced arthropods by 84%, whereas birds reduced them by only 58%. We conclude that previous "bird" exclosure experiments may have systematically underestimated the effects of bats. |
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