Tuttle: Bats are critical for insect control, seed dispersion

Tuttle, an ecologist and photographer who founded BCI in 1982, highlighted the ecological importance of bats, noting their key role in plant life cycles.

“Seventy percent of all fruits produced in the tropics depend on bats for either pollination or seed dispersion,” he explained, citing bananas, mangoes and jackfruit as examples.

Tuttle explained that bats play a key role in insect control, noting that roughly 150 bats preying on a population of cucumber beetles could prevent the insects from laying 33 million eggs among crops.

He discussed a case in San Antonio, Texas, in which bats from local reserves attacked a “storm front’’ of moths moving into the region. With each bat consuming roughly 20 moths and thus preventing 20,000 eggs from being laid, he explained, farmers in the area saved an enormous amount of pesticide.

Tuttle said more funds should be allocated to bat conservation even in “these tough economic times,” explaining that, given the overwhelming ecological and environmental importance of bats, there is no “bigger bang for your buck than in bat conservation.”

He added that given the current state of the economy, BCI — which has successfully lobbied mining companies and commercial hunters to conserve bat populations — needs more help than before.

Since 1990, BCI has funded research by 256 students in 55 countries, he said. Due to lack of funding, however, BCI must reject about half of the funding applications it receives each year, he added.

Tuttle also challenged the general negative attitudes that people hold toward bats.

Public thought tends to associate new diseases with bats, and farmers regard the animals as pests even though they help pollinate crops, he said. He noted that when he founded BCI in 1982, public opinion polls showed that bats ranked between rattlesnakes and cockroaches among people’s dislikes.

“Bats are just as cute as any puppy or kitten,” Tuttle said. He even suggested that audience members who weren’t prepared to start liking bats might want to leave the lecture.

Tuttle punctuated his talk with slides with pictures of bats, occasionally adding humor to keep the audience engaged.

“I always come to these lectures to learn something new,” New Brunswick school teacher Jessica Kennedy said. “It’s a great way to start the weekend ... I wish I could bring my students.”

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Peter Kurz ’64, whose son David is a freshman, said that he finds the University’s lecture series engaging.

“One of the best things about Princeton is the opportunity to listen to scholars who are passionate about their field,” he said.

Audience member Irene Paris said that she had learned something new from Tuttle, explaining that “few are aware of the contribution of bats to the ecosystem.”

And at least one audience member emerged as a convert to Tuttle’s cause.

“We might have been afraid of bats, but this has definitely changed our way of thinking,” said Diana Hay, mother of Alexandra Hay ’12.

The lecture was co-sponsored by the Princeton Environmental Institute and the D&R Greenway Land Trust.