Flying foxes ('Fruit bats') as pollinators
There are two groups of bats that visit and pollinate flowers.
In the New World (the Americas) flower-visiting bats belong to the suborder microchiroptera, which navigate using echolocation.
In the Old World (Africa, Asia, Australia), flower-visiting bats belong to the suborder megachiroptera, which navigate using their well-developed eyesight and sense of smell. Many flowers pollinated by bats in these regions are of the brush-flower type, for example members of the Myrtaceae (including Eucalypts) and Proteaceae.
Flying foxes (also known as 'fruit bats') make a valuable contribution to ecosystems in parts of Australia, both as pollinators and in helping to disperse seeds of fruits. The Grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) is found along some coastal regions of eastern Australia, mainly in forests but they also extend their activities into commercial fruit orchards and urban gardens. They live in ‘camps’, roosting high in the trees. They fly from their roosts at dusk on foraging trips to their food source.
They feed on nectar, pollen and fruit from native Australian trees, depending on availability. Food sources include Eucaplypts and Moreton Bay figs. They carry dustings of pollen in their fur from tree to tree, thus helping with cross-pollination and also disperse seeds, in their droppings, from fruits they have eaten.
Australia’s unpredictable climate and the mostly low soil nutrient levels result in unpredictable flowering in Eucalypt forests, so the availability of nectar can vary considerably, with some species flowering well only every 3 to 4 years. Different species also flower at different times of year.
These Grey-headed flying foxes have adapted to this unreliable food source by being nomadic and travelling long distances in search of nectar and fruit. This makes them particularly important in fruit and seed dispersal and in pollinating isolated groups of trees, the remnants of former Eucalypt forests.
These bats also raid commercial fruit crops and are seen by some as a pest, but they are protected by law.
Image by Erica Larkcom
Flying foxes ('Fruit bats') as pollinators
There are two groups of bats that visit and pollinate flowers.
In the New World (the Americas) flower-visiting bats belong to the suborder microchiroptera, which navigate using echolocation.
In the Old World (Africa, Asia, Australia), flower-visiting bats belong to the suborder megachiroptera, which navigate using their well-developed eyesight and sense of smell. Many flowers pollinated by bats in these regions are of the brush-flower type, for example members of the Myrtaceae (including Eucalypts) and Proteaceae.
Flying foxes (also known as 'fruit bats') make a valuable contribution to ecosystems in parts of Australia, both as pollinators and in helping to disperse seeds of fruits. The Grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) is found along some coastal regions of eastern Australia, mainly in forests but they also extend their activities into commercial fruit orchards and urban gardens. They live in ‘camps’, roosting high in the trees. They fly from their roosts at dusk on foraging trips to their food source.
They feed on nectar, pollen and fruit from native Australian trees, depending on availability. Food sources include Eucaplypts and Moreton Bay figs. They carry dustings of pollen in their fur from tree to tree, thus helping with cross-pollination and also disperse seeds, in their droppings, from fruits they have eaten.
Australia’s unpredictable climate and the mostly low soil nutrient levels result in unpredictable flowering in Eucalypt forests, so the availability of nectar can vary considerably, with some species flowering well only every 3 to 4 years. Different species also flower at different times of year.
These Grey-headed flying foxes have adapted to this unreliable food source by being nomadic and travelling long distances in search of nectar and fruit. This makes them particularly important in fruit and seed dispersal and in pollinating isolated groups of trees, the remnants of former Eucalypt forests.
These bats also raid commercial fruit crops and are seen by some as a pest, but they are protected by law.
Image by Erica Larkcom