Deshpande, Kadambari and Vanak, Abi Tamim and M, Soubadra Devy and Krishnaswamy, Jagdish (2022) Forbidden fruits? Ecosystem services from seed dispersal by fruit bats in the context of latent zoonotic risk. Oikos: e08359. pp. 1-3.
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Abstract
Old world fruit bats are important seed dispersers of many forest plants in tropical ecosystems (Muscarella and Fleming 2007, Aziz et al. 2021) as well as of commercial fruit crops in agro-ecosystems (Djossa et al. 2008, Kasso and Balakrishnan 2013). The foraging and roosting behaviours of fruit bats result in scattered or clumped seed dispersal patterns, each affecting the fate of seeds in different ways (Fleming and Heithaus 1981, Howe 1989, Schupp et al. 2010, Sugiyama et al. 2018). Scatter-dispersal is the widespread deposition of seeds by frugivores at low densities, and clump-dispersal is the aggregation of seeds at high densities at a few locations of high use (Fleming and Heithaus 1981, Howe 1989). Seeds scattered and deposited at low densities may have high probability of germination and recruitment (Wenny 2001). In contrast, high seed densities resulting from clump-dispersal near source trees can have negative effects on recruitment from density-dependent factors (Russo and Augspurger 2004). There can also be beneficial effects for recruitment when frugivores like primates and fruit bats clump seeds at their resting places, at varying distances from feeding trees (Chapman and Russo 2007, Sugiyama et al. 2018). Frugivore foraging and dispersal behaviour can change with habitat type and landscape configuration (McConkey et al. 2012). In human-modified landscapes, frugivores and people often share fruit resources, which can result in differing outcomes for people depending on whether the fruits or the seeds are of commercial interest. Damage to fruits by bat frugivory can cause significant economic losses to fruit production and often result in conflicts, when the fruits are of commercial interest (Chakravarthy and Girish 2003, Aziz et al. 2016, Oleksy et al. 2021). However, farmers can also perceive bats as beneficial when bats disperse seeds of economic importance in ways (e.g. clump-dispersal) that facilitate seed collection by farmers (Deshpande and Kelkar 2015, Musila et al. 2018). Deshpande and Kelkar (2015) found that in the state of Kerala along India’s Western Ghats, people in agroforestry landscapes perceived enefits from clump-dispersal (‘seed aggregations’) of commercially important cashew and areca seeds by fruit bats to be significantly higher than losses from bat frugivory of fleshy fruits such as banana or mango. After feeding on cashew/areca fruits, bats deposited the seeds below trees, which led to lower labour investments for collection. People who did not own cashew or areca trees also reported benefits from obtaining ‘free’ seeds that resulted from scatter and long-distance dispersal by bats. Perceptions of costs and benefits from fruit bats can thus vary with socio-economic contexts and ecological processes. Therefore, evaluation of bat frugivory and seed dispersal using the ecosystem services framework (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005, Kunz et al. 2011), while considering potential ecosystem disservices (Lele et al. 2013), is important for a balanced assessment of socio- conomic benefits and costs from fruit bats. Figure 1 conceptually describes the social translation of bat frugivory and seed dispersal processes into ecosystem services and disservices (based on Deshpande and Kelkar 2015, Aziz et al. 2016).
Item Type: | Article |
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Additional Information: | Copyright of this article belongs to 2022 Nordic Society Oikos. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd |
Uncontrolled Keywords: | benefits and costs, clumped seed dispersal, frugivory, OneHealth and henipaviruses, old world fruit bats, social perceptions |
Subjects: | A ATREE Publications > G Journal Papers |
Divisions: | SM Sehgal Foundation Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation > Biodiversity Monitoring and Conservation Planning |
Depositing User: | Ms Suchithra R |
Date Deposited: | 07 Oct 2025 06:10 |
Last Modified: | 07 Oct 2025 06:10 |
URI: | http://archives.atree.org/id/eprint/954 |