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

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 15; no. 4; p. e0230865
• Main Authors: Ware, Roselyn L, Garrod, Benjamin, Macdonald, Hannah, Allaby, Robin G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 09.04.2020; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Bats; Bioindicators; Biological indicators; Biology and Life Sciences; Biomonitoring; Chiroptera; Conservation; Diet; Dung; Ecologists; Ecology; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Ecosystems; Endangered & extinct species; Forensic sciences; Guano; Hypotheses; Indicator species; Insects; Life sciences; Literature reviews; Medicine and Health Sciences; Morphology; Nutrients; People and places; Population decline; Prey; Studies; United Kingdom; United Kingdom > UK; England
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230865

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.