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      Bats limit arthropods and herbivory in a tropical forest.

      Science (New York, N.Y.)
      Animals, Arthropods, Birds, Chiroptera, Ecosystem, Panama, Plant Leaves, Predatory Behavior, Random Allocation, Trees, Tropical Climate

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          Abstract

          Previous exclosure studies measuring the top-down control of arthropod abundance and herbivory combined the effects of birds and bats. We experimentally partitioned bird predation from bat predation in a lowland tropical forest in Panama and measured the direct effects (arthropod abundance) and indirect effects (herbivory). The exclusion of birds and bats each directly increased arthropod abundance on plants: Bird-exclosed plants contained 65% more, and bat-exclosed plants 153% more, arthropods than controls. Birds and bats also indirectly increased herbivory: Bird-exclosed plants suffered 67% more, and bat-exclosed plants 209% more, herbivory than controls. We conclude that bats have dramatic ecological effects that were previously overlooked.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          18388286
          10.1126/science.1153352

          Chemistry
          Animals,Arthropods,Birds,Chiroptera,Ecosystem,Panama,Plant Leaves,Predatory Behavior,Random Allocation,Trees,Tropical Climate

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