With over 1,400 species worldwide, bats are critical components to many ecosystems as pollinators, seed dispersers, and consumers of night-flying insects, among many other ecological roles. We created the Bat Eco-Interactions Database to facilitate scientific research worldwide on bat diets and the ecosystem services they provide by gathering all published, peer-reviewed accounts of these interactions.
Our vision is to provide a unique platform for scientists, researchers, and avid amateurs to investigate bat diets and other important roles bats play in our environment with the goal of promoting bat research and conservation worldwide. Our database is open sourced, freely available and continually updated by collaborators to provide current information on bat interactions with plants and arthropods.
“Bat Eco-Interactions” are defined here as the interactions in which bats closely interact with all or part of another organism (i.e. consume, host, transport, cohabitate, roost, or be consumed). In so doing, they can be mere consumers or can be pollinators, seed dispersers, or pest controllers. For a list of definitions explaining the various interactions covered in this database, please go to Definitions.
Bat Eco-Interactions is a tool designed to assist professionals from diverse fields of study, including biology, natural resource management, sociology, public health, among many others, to address scientific research questions, assess policies and programs, and to enrich educational initiatives. By providing a place to catalog and share data, we are increasing the impact of scientific research in bat conservation, ecosystem services, and much more, for the benefit of all.