Overview
- Osmania University published the peer-reviewed paper in the Journal of Threatened Taxa on July 28, 2026, reporting the first use of DNA metabarcoding to reconstruct bat diets in India.
- Researchers analysed guano from four leaf-nosed bat species that share Hanumanahalli cave and identified 7,309 arthropod OTUs using non-invasive DNA sequencing.
- The Critically Endangered Kolar Roundleaf Bat alone consumed roughly 4,114 insect taxa while the three co-roosting species each ate between 1,200 and 2,400 taxa.
- The bats’ diets include disease-carrying mosquitoes linked to dengue and malaria and agricultural pests such as the tomato leaf miner, showing a clear role in natural pest control.
- Because the Kolar Roundleaf Bat is confined to a single cave with fewer than 300 individuals, the study’s authors say the DNA-based diet data should guide urgent, targeted conservation and monitoring efforts.