The Importance of Bats for Their Role in Pollination

Role of Bats in Pollination

• Birds, insects and several species of bats are natural pollinators, helping pollinate flowers and trees and disperse seeds in pursuit of nectar and fruit. During the process of sucking nectar from flowers, pollen clings to the body of bats, which, in turn, is transferred to the next flower it visits in search of nectar. In this way, bats assist in plant reproduction. Bats facilitating pollination are predominantly found in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.

  In addition, because fruit bats have the ability to fly long distances, they can move between flowering trees, helping regenerate forests and maintain the forests' diversity.

Flowers Pollinated by Bats

• Bats have specific preferences with regards to flower nectar. Some characteristic features of flowers visited by bats include being large, open at night (as bats are nocturnal in nature) and pale or white, and having a strong fragrance and enormous amounts of dilute nectar. More than 300 species of fruits, including mangoes, bananas, dates, figs, avocados, balsa, durian and guava, are pollinated by the nocturnal mammal.

Role in Desert Ecosystems

• Desert plants are primarily pollinated by bats, giving them an important role in maintaining the equilibrium of desert ecosystems. Such species as the lesser long-nosed and Mexican long-tongued bats are well-adapted to feed and pollinate desert saguaros and succulents, such as the organ-pipe cactus, agaves and cardon. While the slender snouts of these bats help sense the pungent fragrance of flowers that mainly bloom at night, their brush-tipped tongues can penetrate deep into the flowers, aiding with suction of nectar and the transfer of pollen.

Threat to Bats

• The Lubee Bat Conservancy estimates that at least 134 plants that are beneficial to mankind are dependent on bats for pollination and seed dispersal. This mutual symbiosis between bats and plants means bats are a pivotal part of our ecosystem. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports the lesser long-nosed bat is one of many bat species on the endangered list. The loss of the mammal's natural habitat, an overabundance of annual grasses and changes in fire policies endanger not only the bat species but the fragile desert ecosystem as well.