& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Bats are vital to ecosystem

Despite their ecological importance bats are threatened worldwide, and their colonies and habitats are destroyed - both intentionally and inadvertently -because of myths, misinformation and lack of scientific knowledge and understanding.

Sourav Mahmud
efficiently obtain nectar. They, and the plants that rely them, live throughout the world's tropical and subtropical areas, sometimes so well adapted to each other that neither can survive alone.
Bats pollinate plants as they' go. Many' bats feed on nectar and pollinate countless important plants. Others eat fruit, playing a pivotal role in seed dispersal. Bat-dependent plants include banana,
OUR planet contains an amazing diversity of plants, approximately a quarter of a million species. They provide essential food and shelter, without which we and most other animals would quickly' die. In turn, many plants cannot survive without animals to pollinate their flowers and disperse their seeds. Each plant has its own unique needs, some relying on many kinds of animals, others on just a few or even one. Butterflies, bees, bats and birds each pollinate plants that others cannot. From deserts to rain forests, flowering plants have developed a wide range of colors, shapes, sizes and forms, all designed to guarantee that a particular pollinator spreads pollen from plant to plant, ensuring the production of new seeds.
Bats have gotten a bad reputation. In myth and fairytale, bats are often portrayed as blood-sucking fiends. However, there are only three species of vampire bats out of more than a thousand species and they do not really suck blood.
Actually, bats play vital ecological roles as insect predators, pollinators, and seed dispersers. Many bats migrate seasonally, helping to sustain the ecosystems they depend on. The world has more than 1,100 species of bats, most of which live in the tropics. Total 28 species of bats were recorded from Bangladesh. They are - Domer's bat, Harlequin bat, Greater Asiatic Yellow House bat, Lesser Asiatic Yellow bat, Indian Pygmy bat, Little Indian bat, Kelaart Pipistrelle, Savi's Pipistrelle, Tickel's bat, Thickeared Bat, Hodgdon's bat, Painted Woolly bat, Egyptian Free-tailed bat, Black-board Tomb bat, Long-winged Tomb bat, Pouch-bearing Tomb bat, Greater Mouse-tailed bat, Lesser Mouse-tailed bat, Greater False Vampire, Horsfield's Leaf-nosed bat, Cantor's Leaf-nosed bat (VU), Tail-less Leaf-nosed bat, Little Nepalese Horseshoe
bat, Pearson's Horseshoe bat, Horseshoe bat, Fulvous Fruit bat, Indian Flying Fox and Short-nosed Fruit bat. All like to emerge just before dark.
In Bangladesh, most bats eat insects. Being insectivorous bats play a crucial role in checking the population of insect pests. Each night, they consume insects, including such forest pests as gypsy moth and spruce budworm moth. They help control corn earworm moth. Many bats migrate seasonally, including that feed on nectar. In Bangladesh the shortnosed fruit bats are important dispersers of date palm seed and pollinate many night blooming flowers. Indian Flying fox is an important pollinator and plays a role in seed dispersal along with other species. Domer's bat is globally' a least concerned species. This species plays an active role in managing harmful insect populations such as termites, various polyphagous, grasshoppers. Pearson’s Horseshoe Bat is an insectivore and may become a factor in the control of insect's population. Flying fox may also be responsible for spreading diseases, particularly Nipa virus.
Bats with very long noses and tongues use special adaptations to more
guava, papaya, nut, mango, dates, and figs. Many medicinal plants also rely on bats. Fruit bats arc also valuable allies in combating deforestation, a major element in climate change. Many of acres of forest are cleared each year, and the first step in reforestation is the emergence of fast-growing, heat-tolerant pioneer plants in clearings. Tropical fruit bats, which favor the fruit of pioneer plants, arc major dispersers of their seeds. As primary' predators of night-flying insects, bats consume enormous quantities of agricultural pests and reduce the need for chemical pesticides.
Despite their ecological importance bats are threatened worldwide, and their colonics and habitats are destroyed -both intentionally' and inadvertently -because of myths, misinformation and lack of scientific knowledge and understanding. Bats are vital to the health of ecosystems and human economies world wide. We need to conserve this amazing dark dweller to maintain our ecosystem balance and for forest regeneration.
The writer is a biodiversity specialist nature.sourav@gmail.com