Diet and Extinction Risk in Insectivorous Bats
Author Information
Author(s): Justin G. Boyles, Jonathan J. Storm
Primary Institution: Indiana State University
Hypothesis
Is extinction risk related to dietary specialization in insectivorous vespertilionid bats?
Conclusion
Vespertilionid bat species of conservation concern are more likely to have a specialized diet than those of least concern.
Supporting Evidence
- Species of conservation concern are more likely to have a specialized diet.
- Dietary breadth is not correlated with geographic range size or wing morphology.
- The study used a larger and more conservative dataset than previous studies.
Takeaway
Bats that eat a limited variety of food are more at risk of extinction than those that eat many different types of food.
Methodology
Dietary data were collected and analyzed using traditional and phylogenetically-controlled analysis of variance.
Potential Biases
Potential bias in dietary data collection methods could influence results.
Limitations
The small sample size for some IUCN rankings may affect the reliability of the results.
Participant Demographics
The study focused on 44 species of vespertilionid bats from Australia, Europe, and North America.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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