Guano morphology has the potential to inform conservation strategies in British bats

PLoS One. 2020 Apr 9;15(4):e0230865. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230865. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Bats are primary consumers of nocturnal insects, disperse nutrients across landscapes, and are excellent bioindicators of an ecosystem's health, however four of the seventeen Great British species are listed as declining. In this study we aim to investigate the link between bat guano morphology and diet, specifically looking at the ability to predict 1) species, 2) dietary guild, and 3) bat size, using guano morphology alone. Guano from 16 bat species sampled from across Great Britain were analysed to determine various morphological metrics. These data were coupled with diet data obtained by an extensive literature review. It was found that guano morphology overlapped too much to make predictions on the species of bat which deposited the guano, however, in some cases, it could be used to indicate the dietary guild to which the bat belonged. In general, guano morphology seems more correlated to diet than species. This enables the identification of the most important prey taxa within a local environment; a crucial step for informing conservation strategies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
  • Animals
  • Body Size
  • Chiroptera / physiology*
  • Conservation of Natural Resources
  • DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic
  • Diet*
  • England
  • Feces*
  • Predatory Behavior

Grants and funding

RW received funding from the Natural Environment Research Council (grant number 1228377, https://nerc.ukri.org). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.