Tradeoffs in people’s perceptions about ecosystem services and disservices related to bats: Implications for managing agroecosystems and conserving bats

Abstract

Understanding the potential tradeoffs in the social perceptions of ecosystem services (ED) and disservices (EDS) may help decision-making when managing human-modified landscapes like agroecosystems. These tradeoffs are critical when ES and EDS come from the same “provider”. Using bats as a provider example, we show how understanding tradeoffs between ES and EDS may assist in exploring management actions to mitigate human-bat conflicts and thus promote bat conservation. We used a socio-cultural approach consisting of focus groups and individual stakeholder interviews. People noticed more EDS than ES related to the presence of bats, mainly personal security (fear of attacks) and health (risk of disease transmission). Suppression of insect agricultural pests was the most frequently mentioned service. Incomplete and distorted information from mass media sources strongly influences people’s perceptions of bats. Avoiding human-bat contact may help counteract the fear, insecurity and unpleasantness people perceive from bats. Innovative management interventions, such as bat boxes and other artificial roosts, may help to favour bat conservation and their role in the agroecosystem, while other management actions (e.g., educational programs to reinforce ES) help balance ES and EDS tradeoffs. Nevertheless, balancing the tradeoffs in people’s perceptions of ES and EDS related to bats and collaboration among public and private institutions is necessary to facilitate conservation, management, and environmental education. Our findings recognise society’s challenges and how best to identify, protect, and conserve critical human and ecosystem health services in agroecosystems and human-modified landscapes.