Ecosystem services of Mops plicatus, a high-altitude flying aerial-hawking bat of Southeast Asia

Insectivorous bats provide valuable ecosystem services by suppressing agricultural pests, yet their contribution to food security in Southeast Asia remains poorly quantified. We assessed the pest-suppression services of the wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bat (Mops plicatus), a high-altitude aerial-hawking species that forages extensively above rice landscapes. Using updated ecological data from GPS tracking, dietary analyses, and spatial mapping of bat roosts and rice production across six Southeast Asian countries, we quantified bat-mediated suppression of the brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens) and white-backed planthopper (Sogatella furcifera). Applying an avoided-cost framework with stochastic simulations, we estimated rice yield, economic value, and food-security benefits. Bat predation by an estimated population of 19,432,118 M. plicatus protects approximately 21,288 ± 7077 t of rice annually, equivalent to 34.68 ± 11.53 million USD and 100,656 ± 33,466 meals per year. Our findings demonstrate the critical role of high-flying bats in sustaining rice production and highlight the importance of bat conservation for regional food security.