Research Progress on Ecosystem Services Provided by Bats | Northeast Normal University Research Team Publishes New Study in Acta Theriologica Sinica

Bats play multifaceted roles in ecosystems, profoundly impacting both the environment and human societies through their diverse ecosystem services.

In April 2025, a research team from the Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization at Northeast Normal University published a paper titled “Research Progress on Ecosystem Services Provided by Bats” in Acta Theriologica Sinica (Volume 45, Issue 2; DOI: 10.16829/j.slxb.151009).

The study, conducted by LIU Yingying, FENG Jiang, and JIANG Tinglei, systematically summarizes the current status and future prospects of studies concerning bat ecosystem services, with particular emphasis on their roles in provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services.

In terms of provisioning services, bats provide valuable resources for agriculture and medicine, particularly bat guano (known as‘Ye Mingsha’), which is an important component in traditional Chinese medicine and can also serve as an efficient organic fertilizer that significantly improves soil quality and crop yields.

Additionally, some biological characteristics of bats, such as anticoagulant proteins and antiviral compounds in their saliva, provide an essential basis for new drug development, driving innovation in biotechnology and medicine.

In regulating services, insectivorous bats not only reduce agricultural pest populations and pesticide use but also create a‘landscape of fear’through predation risks, altering prey behavior and physiology, thereby further reducing their fitness. Frugivorous bats contribute to plant pollination and seed dispersal, improving crop production sustainability and enhancing ecosystem health.

In cultural services, the image of bats holds significant symbolic meaning in both Eastern and Western cultures and contributes to local economies through eco-tourism.

In supporting services, bats maintain ecosystem health and stability through seed dispersal, plant pollination, and nutrient cycling.

The review also anticipates future research directions, underscoring the importance of protecting bats and their ecosystem services to address challenges posed by global environmental changes and to promote sustainable development in human societies.


More info: LIU Yingying, FENG Jiang, JIANG Tinglei. Research progress on ecosystem services provided by bats[J]. Acta Theriologica Sinica, 2025, 45(2): 137-151.

Photos by Research team
Original Chinese Link:https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/q_4V4xAJOB6R8raZ6q_CBQ
Edited by YJ
Reviewed by Maggie
Contact: v10@cbcgdf.org; +8617319454776

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