Come again? Infant mortality increases as the number of bats decreases

A study published in the journal Science earlier in the month showed a very real and concerning connection between falling populations of bats and higher infant mortalities in humans. 

If you’re thinking, “Now that can’t be,” let me explain, or let the journal’s editor explain. She wrote: 

“County-level insecticide use and infant mortality…both increased after the emergence of white-nose syndrome [which kills bats], whereas farms’ crop revenue decreased. This study provides an example of how biodiversity loss affects human well-being and presents observational methods for quantifying those costs.” 

Here’s what the study found: farms upped their insecticide use by 31.1% due to the lack of bats, demonstrating a “substitution between a declining natural input and a human-made input.” Meanwhile, infant mortality rates rose by an average of 7.9% in the affected counties. 

On one hand, it’s one study. On the other hand, wow! Even if you don’t find bats cute – I don’t – we clearly need to save the bats, and in doing so we can save the babies.