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<p>Bats are important natural enemies of agricultural pests, yet their role in heterogeneous landscapes like the European bocage remains understudied. These landscapes host diverse bat communities that may enhance pest suppression in crops. However, their heterogeneity could also hamper pest consumption due to greater alternative prey availability. Understanding dietary variation among bat species and across seasons is key to assessing their contribution to pest control. We conducted a dietary DNA-metabarcoding study in a bocage landscape in Asturias, northern Spain, to investigate pest consumption by three common European bat species: <i>Pipistrellus pipistrellus</i>, <i>Rhinolophus ferrumequinum</i>, and <i>Rhinolophus hipposideros.</i> Our study focused on identifying agricultural pest species in their faecal contents and on examining variation in pest consumption among species and across seasons. We identified 191 pest species in bat diets potentially affecting a wide range of crops. Overall, bats consistently consumed agricultural pests throughout the year, though we observed some seasonal variation in pest richness and composition. Although our analyses revealed substantial overlap in pest consumption among the three bat species, they also showed clear differences in the specific pest taxa consumed and the frequency of consumption. These results highlight both complementarity and partial functional overlap among bat species in their consumption of agricultural pests, underscoring their collective role in maintaining resilient pest control services across time and crop types within bocage landscapes.</p>

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Interspecific and seasonal variations in crop pest consumption by bats in a bocage landscape

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月4日

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  • Marcos Miñarro,
  • Daniel García,
  • José Javier Jiménez-Albarral,
  • Juan Carlos Illera

摘要

Bats are important natural enemies of agricultural pests, yet their role in heterogeneous landscapes like the European bocage remains understudied. These landscapes host diverse bat communities that may enhance pest suppression in crops. However, their heterogeneity could also hamper pest consumption due to greater alternative prey availability. Understanding dietary variation among bat species and across seasons is key to assessing their contribution to pest control. We conducted a dietary DNA-metabarcoding study in a bocage landscape in Asturias, northern Spain, to investigate pest consumption by three common European bat species: Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, and Rhinolophus hipposideros. Our study focused on identifying agricultural pest species in their faecal contents and on examining variation in pest consumption among species and across seasons. We identified 191 pest species in bat diets potentially affecting a wide range of crops. Overall, bats consistently consumed agricultural pests throughout the year, though we observed some seasonal variation in pest richness and composition. Although our analyses revealed substantial overlap in pest consumption among the three bat species, they also showed clear differences in the specific pest taxa consumed and the frequency of consumption. These results highlight both complementarity and partial functional overlap among bat species in their consumption of agricultural pests, underscoring their collective role in maintaining resilient pest control services across time and crop types within bocage landscapes.