The bulk of the world’s 350,000 flowering plant species relies on animal pollinators for reproduction. Animal pollinated plants have an essential role in ecosystems, maintaining biodiversity and providing ecosystem services such as building materials, biofuels, medicines, and food. Three-quarters of the world’s most important crops improve their yield or quality when pollinated by animals. Furthermore, crops high in micronutrients are usually the most reliant on animal pollination.
Bats as Pollinators: What Plants Do Bats Pollinate
Bats pollinate a variety of plants. On the other hand, bats arrive at night, but fluffy tiny bees, colorful butterflies, and other daytime pollinators arrive during the day, and they don’t get much credit for their labor. On the other hand, these swift insects can fly like the wind and carry a lot of pollen on their cheeks and coats. Do you want to know more about plants that are pollinated by bats? Continue reading to find out more about the plants that bats pollinate.
Materials and Methods
1. Statistical Analysis
To assess differences in fruit set among pollination by bats examples treatments, we used a binomial generalized linear mixed effect model to assess the effect of pollination treatment on fruit weight and sucrose concentration and a weighted LMM to assess seed set. In all models, cacti nested within the site were regarded as random variables, whereas cultivar type and pollination treatment were treated as fixed factors. Because the models were calibrated to these factors, the parameter estimates are interpreted as the treatment of nocturnal pollinators and wild cacti.
2. Bats as Vital Pollinators
The value of bats as pollinator vectors is recognized throughout the world. Every continent with a tropical ecology has nectar-feeding bats. However, bat pollination contribution is not evenly spread worldwide, as it is with other pollinators, with some locations having more diversity than others. The majority of flower-visiting bats have been discovered in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands too far. Nevertheless, bats play an important part in the reproduction and fruit development of many plant species as pollinators.
Many of them perform vital ecological functions and contribute to the survival of indigenous human populations worldwide. At the same time, a few are also commercially important, such as the fruits of the columnar cactus and the Agaves used in the manufacturing of fibre and tequila. Fruits, textiles, and wood are just a few products that benefit from bat pollination.
As previously noted, bat pollination occurs in both the New and Old World tropics. Several studies in the Old World tropics have looked at bat pollinators’ pollination by bats’ examples effectiveness. Flying fox bats, for example, are known to pollinate 168 flower species across 100 genera and 41 families. In addition, bats pollinate Australia’s dry eucalyptus trees, which furnish timber and oils to customers worldwide.
What is Pollination by Bats Called?
Before knowing what pollination by bats do, you must know what is pollination by bats called. Pollination by bats is called chiropterophily. Many people are unaware that bats pollinate over 500 plant species, including mango, banana, durian, guava, and agave blooms (used to make tequila). Thank the bats the next time you drink tequila or eat a mango!
Types of Plants Pollinated by Bats
What plants are pollinated by bats? Bats are the most prevalent pollinators of night-blooming plants. They are drawn to huge, white, or pale-colored blossoms that are one to three inches in diameter (2.5 to 8.8 cm). Bats enjoy the nectar-rich, aromatic blossoms with a musty, fruity scent. Flowers in the shape of tubes or funnels are popular. According to the United States Forest Service Rangeland Management Botany Program, bats pollinate around 300 different types of food-producing plants, including:
Facts about Bats as Pollinators
Bats are important pollinators in warm locations like the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and Africa. In addition, they are crucial pollinators for agave plants, Saguaro cactus, and organ pipe cactus in the American Southwest. However, pollination is just half of their job because a single bat may swallow over 600 mosquitoes in an hour. Bats also eat damaging beetles and other pests that wreak havoc on crops.
Conclusion
Despite the immense economic value of bat-pollinated crops such as durian, the importance of bats as pollinators are frequently overlooked. Furthermore, studies on globally relevant products excluded small-scale crops like pitayas, which are critical to residents.