Clean and Green Urban Water Bodies Benefit Nocturnal Flying Insects and Their Predators, Insectivorous Bats

Tanja M. Straka, Pia E. Lentini, Linda F. Lumsden, Sascha Buchholz, Brendan A. Wintle and Rodney van der Ree
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Tanja M. Straka: School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville VIC 3010, Australia
Pia E. Lentini: School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville VIC 3010, Australia
Linda F. Lumsden: Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Heidelberg VIC 3084, Australia
Sascha Buchholz: Ecosystem Science/Plant Ecology, Department of Ecology, Technische Universität Berlin, 12165 Berlin, Germany
Brendan A. Wintle: School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville VIC 3010, Australia
Rodney van der Ree: School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville VIC 3010, Australia

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 7, 1-18

Abstract: Nocturnal arthropods form the prey base for many predators and are an integral part of complex food webs. However, there is limited understanding of the mechanisms influencing invertebrates at urban water bodies and the potential flow-on effects to their predators. This study aims to: (i) understand the importance of standing water bodies for nocturnal flying insect orders, including the landscape- and local-scale factors driving these patterns; and (ii) quantify the relationship between insects and insectivorous bats. We investigated nocturnal flying insects and insectivorous bats simultaneously at water bodies (n = 58) and non-water body sites (n = 35) using light traps and acoustic recorders in Melbourne, Australia. At the landscape scale, we found that the presence of water and high levels of surrounding greenness were important predictors for some insect orders. At the water body scale, low levels of sediment pollutants, increased riparian tree cover and water body size supported higher insect order richness and a greater abundance of Coleopterans and Trichopterans, respectively. Most bat species had a positive response to a high abundance of Lepidopterans, confirming the importance of this order in the diet of insectivorous bats. Fostering communities of nocturnal insects in urban environments can provide opportunities for enhancing the prey base of urban nocturnal insectivores.

Keywords: Chiroptera; invertebrates; pollutants; predator-prey relationship; urbanisation; urban water bodies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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