Do Artificial Nectar Feeders Affect Bat–plant Interactions in an Ecuadorian Cloud Forest?

<div class="line" id="line-7"> Plant&ndash;pollinator interactions are critical to ecosystems. However, when artificial nectar feeders are available in an area, they could draw pollinators away from plants. We tested the effects of artificial nectar feeders in an Ecuadorian cloud forest on four aspects of bat&ndash;plant interactions: (1) bat relative abundance; (2) bat pollen loads; (3) flower visitation rates, and (4) breeding success of a bat&hyphen;pollinated species ( <i> Burmeistera glabrata </i> ). We divided the study site into areas close to (~30&nbsp;m) and far from (~500&nbsp;m) three different feeder sites. At each distance, we captured nectar bats ( <i> Anoura caudifer </i> , <i> &nbsp;Anoura cultrata </i> , and&nbsp; <i> Lonchophylla robusta </i> ) to estimate their relative abundance and to collect pollen from fur and fecal samples. We also videotaped flowers to estimate bat visitation rates and recorded different breeding success variables of&nbsp; <i> B.&nbsp;glabrata </i> . We found that areas close to feeders have higher relative bat abundance by a factor of 40. In spite of this, the presence of feeders did not affect bat pollen loads, nor the flower visitation rates and breeding success of&nbsp; <i> B.&nbsp;glabrata </i> . Interestingly, there were differences in pollen loads between the three bat species, in that&nbsp; <i> L.&nbsp;robusta </i> &nbsp;individuals rarely carried pollen and were only captured near feeders.</div>