508 compliant, text-only (PDF; no figures)
Product Type: Journal Article
Year: 2011
Author(s): Boyles, J.G., P.M. Cryan, G.F. McCracken, and T.H. Kunz
Suggested Citation:
Boyles, J.G., P.M. Cryan, G.F. McCracken, and T.H. Kunz. 2011. Economic importance of bats in agriculture. Science 332(6025): 41-42.
This publication is available from American Association for the Advancement of Science .
White-nose syndrome (WNS) and the increased development of wind-power facilities are threatening populations of insectivorous bats in North America. Bats are voracious predators of nocturnal insects, including many crop and forest pests. We present here analyses suggesting that loss of bats in North America could lead to agricultural losses estimated at more than $3.7 billion/year. Urgent efforts are needed to educate the public and policy-makers about the ecological and economic importance of insectivorous bats and to provide practical conservation solutions.
Causes and Consequences of Bat Fatalities at Wind Turbines
Ecological Investigations of White-Nose Syndrome in Bats
Development of a White-nose Syndrome (WNS) Disease Tracking System
WNS Data Management Coordination

Electrolyte depletion in white-nose syndrome bats
Experimental infection of bats with Geomyces destructans causes white-nose syndrome
Response to: Concerns about extrapolating right off the bat [Letter]
Bat ecology as it relates to white-nose syndrome
Current white-nose syndrome (WNS) research
White-Nose Syndrome Fungus (Geomyces destructans) in bats, Europe
Wing pathology of white-nose syndrome in bats suggests life-threatening disruption of physiology
White-nose Syndrome threatens the survival of hibernating bats in North America