Understanding bat ecosystem services on a global scale requires caution and wider collaboration: a critical evaluation of Ramirez-Francel et al. (2022)

TANALGO, Krizler C.

INTEGRATIVE ZOOLOGY

2023

18

2

Tanalgo, KC

Global biodiversity is currently in the midst of the sixth mass extinction, and countless species and their key ecosystem services are threatened across different habitats(Vos et al. 2015). Constructive actions to address the negative impacts of changing conditions require rigorous biodiversity data integration and synthesis to inform effective policy-making decisions(Heberling et al. 2021). Care is needed to ensure objectivity and remove biases in analyses to avoid generating misleading conclusions. Recently, Ramirez-Francel et al.(2022) published a review offering an update on the vital ecosystem services of bats on a global scale.We applaud the authors for their attempt to conduct an extremely challenging large-scale analysis in major areas of bat ecosystem services. The work provides a valuable set of analyses to improve our current knowledge and thus bolster bat conservation and public support. However, the review contains several inaccuracies and biases related to the review framework, methods, and screening of literature from different regions.We believe these limitations may hinder an accurate understanding of bat ecosystem services, particularly in identifying regional strengths and gaps in the Palaeotropics.We base this statement on problems we identified in the areas of bat-plant interactions, but several of the issues potentially affect other services discussed by the authors. Here, we highlight several key points that warrant corrections and/or clarifications from the authors.