Understanding Bat Guilds: A Systematic Review of Their Development, Uses and Research Implications

Introduction In Ecology, guilds are groups of species that exploit the same class of resource similarly. Bat ecologists often use guilds to study resource partitioning, identify species that have undergone adaptive convergence and understand species' responses to ecological disturbances and conservation efforts. Aim To provide an overview of the major guilds used for bats, examine how these guilds are used, identify research gaps and offer recommendations for bat guild usage. Methods We conducted a systematic literature review of bat guild papers addressing two key questions: (i) what guilds are used in bat research, and (ii) which species and locations have been studied using guilds. Results Ninety‐nine per cent of the selected 658 studies used some combination of the same five major guild systems. Almost half (47%) were conducted in the Neotropics. Seventy‐one per cent of all valid extant bat species, 93% of genera and all bat families were represented in the guild studies, but only 9% of studies included members of Pteropodidae. Discussion The five major bat guild systems are Trophic, Habitat Type, Foraging Mode, Echolocation and Roosting. Most of these systems focus on foraging, and several use echolocation call design and wing morphology for guild assignments. Important research gaps were identified: Roosting guilds require further study and refinement, and both the Indomalayan and Afrotropic regions are severely understudied. It is recommended that researchers explicitly mention the criteria used to assign species to guilds and specify the exact type of guild being used.