Bats in Mediterranean agroecosystems: The role of crop type and landscape composition

Agricultural intensification, involving pesticide use and monoculture practices, has had a negative impact on natural habitats and wildlife populations. Yet agricultural lands are important for many bat species due to the rich insect feeding resources, and bat foraging in agricultural areas is in turn beneficial for reducing pesticide use. We studied the foraging activity and diversity of bats in Mediterranean agroecosystems over 67 sites and 10 crops across diverse agricultural landscapes and management practices using acoustic monitoring. We simultaneously tested the importance of climatic, agricultural management, landscape and anthropogenic factors. We recorded 14 bat species, but the majority of activity was dominated by the edge foraging Pipistrellus species. Bats were recorded over all agricultural sites, from orchards to arable crops, with highest activity over corn and cotton fields. Crop type was the most important determinant of bat activity over agricultural fields, determining overall bat activity, species richness and the activity of edge and open space foragers and most individual species. Organic farming practices impacted bat species richness the activity of two bat species. Landscape composition was important for bat species richness, as well as the activity of most bat species, though the effect differed between species. Artificial lighting negatively affected bat activity, including the activity of bats known to forage at streetlights. Our findings support the importance of the agricultural landscape for Mediterranean bats. Our study provides important insights for understanding how crop type shapes the activity of insectivorous bats in complex agricultural landscapes and how management of the wider landscape interacts with cultivation practices of the agricultural fields to support the activity of top nocturnal predators of agricultural pests.