|
Posted on 04/29/2019 8:43:18 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Researchers from James Cook University in Cairns, Australia, chose the bat poo in their quest to answer to a long-standing question: why is there some much biodiversity on the islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Java, when not so long ago (geologically speaking) they were all part of one vast continent?
One theory has been that the former continent (Sundaland) was dissected by a savanna corridor. "That might explain why Sumatra and Borneo each have their own species of orang-utan, even though they were linked by land for millions of years," Dr Chris Wurster said. "The corridor would have divided the two separate rainforest refuges, as the sea does now."
The corridor theory has been boosted by millions of insect-eating bats, which have gathered evidence about the landscape over millennia and deposited it in layers in their caves.
"Bat poo is highly informative, and especially so in the tropics, where the climate can make some of the more traditional modes of investigation less available," Dr Wurster said.
A three-metre pile of bat faeces at Salah Cave in Borneo gave the researchers a 40,000-year-old record composed of insect skeletons.
"We can't tell what insects the bats were eating throughout that time, because they're in tiny fragments, but we can read the chemistry," Dr Wurster said.
"Eating insects that have been feeding on tropical grasses results in faeces with a characteristic chemical imprint. It's quite different from the result you'd get from eating insects that fed on tropical trees."
According to the bat record the landscape around Saleh Cave (now featuring lush rainforest) was once dominated by tropical grasses.
(Excerpt) Read more at eurekalert.org ...
So... it would seem it’s not just the climate that changes on our wonderful planet.
Nah. There are still people who are batpoop crazy.
When Nature Calls
They seem to eat fine, even being blind.
guano makes guava
Interesting...what is A O-C opinion on that? She is batpoop crazy...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
