This Article is a Compilation of the Discussion that happened on 20th July 2020 in the Scientific Community Discussion Forum: Sci-Chat. It cannot be very perfect as it is completely opinionated.
The study of bats is known as chiropterology and a person who does research on bats is a chiropterologist. Bats are known to be one of the best indicators of environmental health in the sense that they are great pollinators of commercially valuable crops such as banana, mangoes, guavas. They act as best insect controllers as well i.e a controller of locusts. They even have a useful role in biodegradation and seed dispersal which is important to maintain the ecological balance. They are useful as pest controllers owing to their habit of eating mosquitoes and hence are important in maintaining the balance of the food chain. But on the other hand, they may have a negative impact on humans as they are known to be carriers of harmful viruses which is transmitted to other animals, and in turn to those humans who may consume their meat as part of their diet. Consuming bats is really dangerous for humans as it may lead to various diseases such as Ebola, Nipah, and currently the pandemic COVID-19. Even the slaughtering and smuggling of viruses may lead to an outbreak of severe infectious diseases which can have a serious impact on humans. Thereby, a combination of the bat and animal virus can have an adverse effect on human health. For instance, in view of the COVID 19 pandemic outbreak, bats do not directly transmit the disease, especially in the case of coronavirus, and thus do not directly cause the infection as such.
Insects have an important role in the maintenance of the ecological balance as they aid in the pollination of flowers and the recycling of nutrients. The mosquito, though believed to be a vector of various protozoans and hence transmission of diseases such as malaria, dengue, etc. may be considered to have a role in ecosystem as they lay eggs in aquatic systems where the larvae serve as feeds to many fishes. Thus a system without mosquitoes would lead to a dependence of the insectivorous reptiles, rodents, bats, birds on other sources of food, such as our beautiful butterflies and moths. Though their ecological role may not be fully understood, yet the spread of diseases such as malaria may be eradicated by means of CRISPR technology which would make them unsuitable hosts for plasmodium. The check on breeding grounds of mosquitoes such as open drains, landfills, and sewage is another amendment act which can be implemented as well.
The role played by every organism in the ecosystem is vital and should be brought into the light, although the saddest part about it is that it doesn’t happen so. And the primary reason is us: humans. Humans are adversely affecting the habitat of not only bats but other creatures as well owing to their action of cutting down trees and hence causing the build-up of stress hormones which in turn affects their associated microbiota. It is high time we should all realize the ecological contribution of every individual organism and accordingly take steps for amendment as it is not a question of how harmful these viruses are; rather a matter of human’s invitation to make these harmful viruses enter in the environment.
Date: July 20, 2020
Compiling Authors:
Aparajita Chakraborty & Shreya Upadhyay