Bioindicator species and regenerative development:
Evaluating the use of butterflies, birds and bats in environmental conservation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55924/ucireg.v4i1.41Keywords:
regeneration, conservation biology, environmental protection, ecosystem health, ecologyAbstract
Natural ecosystems have never been so heavily impacted by anthropogenic habitat degradation as they are currently being affected. The use of criteria that allow for the establishment of priorities for management and conservation are very useful, as is the case of bioindicator species. The objective of this work is to propose the use of butterflies, birds and bats as bioindicator species of environmental quality or ecosystem health, understood as the state of the ecosystem closest to its optimal equilibrium point. To do so, a review was made of the importance of these taxonomic groups in the ecosystem and their functionality as bioindicator species, in addition to describing the importance of their application in regenerative development projects. The use of these species as bioindicators offers the opportunity to create a holistic approach to assess ecosystem health and direct effective conservation strategies. These organisms allow for a comprehensive analysis of environmental impacts and the measurement of the effectiveness of regenerative practices.
References
Abrol, D. P., y Abrol, D. P. (2012). Pollinators as bioindicators of ecosystem functioning. Pollination biology: Biodiversity conservation and agricultural production, 509-544.
Barlow, J., Overal, W.L., Araujo, I.S., Gardner, T.A. and Peres, C.A. (2007). The value of primary, secondary and plantation forests for fruit-feeding butterflies in the Brazilian Amazon. Journal of Applied Ecology, 44: 1001-1012. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2007.01347.x
Barolia, S. K., y Singh, P. (2020). Bat (Pteropus giganteus) plays an important role in many ways for society and farmers: A review. Gl J Foo Sci Nutri: GJFSN, 102. DOI: 10.39127/GJFSN:1000102
Barrantes, G., Ocampo, D., Ramirez-Fernandez, J. D., y Fuchs, E. J. (2016). Effect of fragmentation on the Costa Rican dry forest avifauna. PeerJ, 4, e2422.
Benvindo-Souza, M., Borges, R. E., Pacheco, S. M., y de Souza Santos, L. R. (2019). Genotoxicological analyses of insectivorous bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) in central Brazil: The oral epithelium as an indicator of environmental quality. Environmental Pollution, 245, 504-509. DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.11015
Bonilla Villalobos, V. (2019). Variacion en composicion y estructura de la vegetacion lenosa de un bosque humedo premontano transición seca, debido a la actividad agricola y ganadera. Cuadernos de Investigacion UNED, 11(2), 24-37. http://dx.doi.org/10.22458/urj.v11i2.2293
Burger, J. (2006). Bioindicators: types, development, and use in ecological assessment and research. Environmental Bioindicators, 1(1), 22-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/15555270590966483
Burger, J., Gochfeld, M., Powers, C. W., Niles, L., Zappalorti, R., Feinberg, J., y Clarke, J. (2013). Habitat protection for sensitive species: balancing species requirements and human constraints using bioindicators as examples. DOI:10.4236/ns.2013.55A007
Chassot O., Valverde-Blanco A., González-Maya J. F., Chaudhary S., Monge-Arias G. (2022). Pensando en regeneracion: una vision global para la gestion integral de areas protegidas y conservadas. Regeneratio 1(1), 18-33. DOI:10.55924/ucireg.v1i1.2
Cunto, G. C., y Bernard, E. (2012). Neotropical bats as indicators of environmental disturbance: what is the emerging message?. Acta Chiropterologica, 14(1), 143-151. DOI: 10.3161/150811012X654358
Deshpande, K. (2012). Assessing diversity and distribution of bats in relation to land-use and anthropogenic threats in the southern Western Ghats, India. Final Report Submitted to the Rufford Small Grants for Nature Conservation, 30pp.
East, M. (2020). The transition from sustainable to regenerative development. Ecocycles 6(1), 106-109. doi:10.19040/ecocycles.v6i1.168
Egwumah, F. A., Egwumah, P. O., y Edet, D. I. (2017). Paramount roles of wild birds as bioindicators of contamination. Int J Avian y Wildlife Biol, 2(6), 00041. DOI: 10.15406/ijawb.2017.02.00041
Estrada-Guerrero, D. M., y Soler-Tovar, D. (2014). Las aves como bioindicadores de contaminación por metales pesados en humedales: Birds as bioindicators of heavy metal contamination in wetlands. Ornitología Colombiana, (14), 145-160.
Fagua, G; Amarillo, A y Andrade, G. (1999). Mariposas (Lepidoptera) como bioindicadores del grado de intervención en la cuenca del río Pato (Caquetá).
Forsberg, F., Barfod, A. S., Francisco, A. J., Ribeiro, M. C. (2020). Fruit feeding butterflies as indicator taxon, pitfalls and concerns demonstrated in the Atlantic Forest. Ecological Indicators, 111,105986. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.105986
García‐Morales, R., Badano, E. I., y Moreno, C. E. (2013). Response of Neotropical bat assemblages to human land use. Conservation Biology, 27(5), 1096-1106. DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12099
Gerlach, J., Samways, M., y Pryke, J. (2013). Terrestrial invertebrates as bioindicators: an overview of available taxonomic groups. Journal of insect conservation, 17, 831-850.
González-Maya, J. F., Chassot, O., Espinel, A., y Cepeda, A. A. (2011). Sobre la necesidad y pertinencia de la gestión integral de paisajes en Latinoamérica. Revista Latinoamericana de Conservación 2(1), 1-6.
Gross, M. (2016). Butterflies take a well-studied tumble. Current Biology, 26, R823–R825.
Han, Y. G., Kwon, O., y Cho, Y. (2015). A study of bioindicator selection for long-term ecological monitoring. Journal of Ecology and Environment, 38(1), 119-122. doi.org/10.5141/ecoenv.2015.013
Henry, M., Thomas, D. W., Vaudry, R., y Carrier, M. (2002). Foraging distances and home range of pregnant and lactating little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus). Journal of Mammalogy, 83(3), 767-774. https://doi.org/10.1644/1545-1542(2002)083<0767:FDAHRO>2.0.CO;2
Holt, E. A., y Miller, S. W. (2011). Bioindicators: Using organisms to measure. Nature, 3, 8-13.
Janz, N. y Nylin, S. (1998). Butterflies and Plants: A Phylogenetic Study. Evolution, 52: 486-502. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.1998.tb01648.x
Jones, G., Jacobs, D. S., Kunz, T. H., Willig, M. R., y Racey, P. A. (2009). Carpe noctem: the importance of bats as bioindicators. Endangered species research, 8(1-2), 93-115. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00182
Kawahara, A.Y., Storer, C., Carvalho, A.P.S. et al. (2023). A global phylogeny of butterflies reveals their evolutionary history, ancestral hosts and biogeographic origins. Nat Ecol Evol 7, 903–913.
Kevan, P. G. (1999). Pollinators as bioindicators of the state of the environment: species, activity and diversity. In Invertebrate biodiversity as bioindicators of sustainable landscapes (pp. 373-393). Elsevier.
Lopez, D., Fonda, F., Monti, F., y Dal Zotto, M. (2023). Density Estimates and Habitat Preferences of Two Sympatric Bird Species as Potential Bioindicators of Tropical Forest Alterations. Diversity, 15(2), 208. https://doi.org/10.3390/d15020208
Markert, B. (2007). Definitions and principles for bioindication and biomonitoring of trace metals in the environment. Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology, 21, 77-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2007.09.015
McGeoch, M. A. (1998). The selection, testing and application of terrestrial insects as bioindicators. Biological reviews, 73(2), 181-201.
Mora-Escobar, F. Vargas, V. (2024). Murciélagos: Aliados nocturnos como métrica y actores en la agricultura regenerativa. Regeneratio 1(3), 25-42. DOI: 10.55924/ucireg.v3i1.32
Müller, E. (2022). Regeneración, la esperanza para co-crear un futuro próspero y abundante a favor de la vida. Regeneratio 1(1), 7-13. DOI:10.55924/ucireg.v1i1.13
Nachev, M., y Sures, B. (2016). Environmental parasitology: Parasites as accumulation bioindicators in the marine environment. Journal of Sea Research, 113, 45-50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seares.2015.06.005
Ochoa, E. P. (2014). Aves silvestres como bioindicadores de contaminación ambiental y metales pesados. CES Salud Pública, 5(1), 59-69.
Ortega, M. A. A. G., Hernández, J. G., Gómez, M. F. M., y Velázquez, L. E. D. (2003). Un método para la selección de aves bioindicadoras con base en sus posibilidades de monitoreo. Huitzil Revista Mexicana de Ornitología, 4(2), 10-16. https://doi.org/10.28947/hrmo.2003.4.2.18
Portillo, A., Vega, C. M., Mena, J. L., Bonifaz, E., Ascorra, C., Silman, M. R., y Fernandez, L. E. (2024). Mercury bioaccumulation in bats in Madre de Dios, Peru: implications for Hg bioindicators for tropical ecosystems impacted by artisanal and small-scale gold mining. Ecotoxicology, 33(4), 457-469.
Pretorius, M., Markotter, W., y Keith, M. (2021). Assessing the extent of land-use change around important bat-inhabited caves. BMC zoology, 6, 1-12.
Ramírez, A. (2000). Utilidad de las aves como indicadores de la riqueza específica regional de otros taxones. Ardeola, 47(2), 221-226.
Russo, D., y Ancillotto, L. (2015). Sensitivity of bats to urbanization: a review. Mammalian Biology, 80(3), 205-212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2014.10.003
Sperlea, T., Heider, D., y Hattab, G. (2022). A theoretical basis for bioindication in complex ecosystems. Ecological Indicators, 140, 109050. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109050
Stevens, R. D., y Willig, M. R. (2002). Geographical ecology at the community level: perspectives on the diversity of New World bats. Ecology, 83(2), 545-560. https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2002)083[0545:GEATCL]2.0.CO;2
Tenorio Brenes, J. (2024). Primer registro de deprdacion de la rana Smilisca baudinii (Hylidae) por Geranospiza caerulescens. Regeneratio 1(3), 17-24. DOI: 10.55924/ucireg.v3i1.34
Torquetti, C. G., de Carvalho, T. P., de Freitas, R. M. P., Freitas, M. B., Guimarães, A. T. B., y Soto-Blanco, B. (2023). Influence of landscape ecology and physiological implications in bats from different trophic guilds. Science of the Total Environment, 857, 159631. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159631
Tuneu-Corral, C., Puig-Montserrat, X., Flaquer, C., Mas, M., Budinski, I., y López-Baucells, A. (2020). Ecological indices in long-term acoustic bat surveys for assessing and monitoring bats' responses to climatic and land-cover changes. Ecological Indicators, 110, 105849. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.105849
Vidal-Martínez, V. M., y Wunderlich, A. C. (2017). Parasites as bioindicators of environmental degradation in Latin America: a meta-analysis. Journal of Helminthology, 91(2), 165-173. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022149X16000432
Villegas, M., y Garitano-Zavala, A. (2008). Las comunidades de aves como indicadores ecológicos para programas de monitoreo ambiental en la ciudad de La Paz, Bolivia. Ecología en Bolivia, 43(2), 146-153.
Wilkinson, G. S., y Adams, D. M. (2019). Recurrent evolution of extreme longevity in bats. Biology letters, 15(4), 20180860. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0860
Zukal, J., Pikula, J., y Bandouchova, H. (2015). Bats as bioindicators of heavy metal pollution: history and prospect. Mammalian Biology, 80, 220-227.
Zumbado, M. I. (2020). Especies de lepidópteros (Papilionoidea) como bioindicadoras del grado de perturbación humana en dos localidades del cantón de Belén. San José, Costa Rica: M. I. Zum
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Javier Tenorio Brenes, Fabian Mora-Escobar, Dariel Sanabria Quiros
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Contributions to the journal are made under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
The use of this type of license grants a user permission to share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, as long as:
- Proper attribution or recognition is given to the author(s) of the licensed material and any other person designated for attribution or recognition, in any reasonable manner requested by the Licensor.
- A link to the license is provided, and it is indicated if changes have been made. This can be done in any reasonable manner, but not in a way that suggests that you or your use are endorsed by the Licensor.
- The material is not used for commercial purposes.
- The original content of the material is not modified. If remixing, transforming, or creating from the material, the modified material cannot be distributed.
