DOI: 10.5061/dryad.41ns1rnsz
title: Data from: Perceived and actual ecosystem services by fruit bats, birds, and primates in litchi orchards agroecosystems

description: Ecosystem services and disservices by key animal groups such as birds,
 fruit bats, and primates are often understudied. The lack of ecological
 knowledge results in persecution and culling due to perceived damage to
 fruit trees. We combined a control-treatment study with questionnaire data
 to untangle the actual and perceived impact of birds, fruit bats, and
 primates in South African litchi orchards. Control trees produced
 significantly higher yields than the caged trees. There was a weak, but
 non-significant, trend towards higher vertebrate damage on control trees
 compared to treatment trees. Questionnaire data found that weather and
 monkeys caused more damage to litchi fruits compared to fruit bats. There
 was also strong consensus among farmers that damage varied between
 vertebrate (monkey, fruit bats, birds, and wild pigs) and invertebrate
 (insects) as well as an abiotic factor (weather) groups. Farm type
 (commercial versus small-scale) showed a statistically significant
 difference in perceived damage caused by vertebrate groups and weather.
 Commercial farms reported higher damage caused by groups when compared to
 small-scale farms. This study recorded relatively low incidences of crop
 raiding by fruit bats and highlights the economic benefits of biocontrol
 by insectivorous bats and birds, which outweighed the yield losses by
 fruit bats, birds, and monkeys. Vertebrate exclusion to prevent crop
 damage limits access and biocontrol benefits provided by bats and birds.
 Farmers are unaware of the economic benefits of bats and birds; thus, it
 is vital to educate them on the ecological importance which can outweigh
 the disservices resulting from fruit bats and reduce persecution by fruit
 farmers.
description: # Data from: Perceived and actual ecosystem services by fruit bats, birds,
 and primates in litchi orchards agroecosystems Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.41ns1rnsz](10.5061/dryad.41ns1rnsz) ## Description of the
 data and file structure This dataset includes experimental exclusion and
 questionnaire survey data collected to investigate the impacts of
 vertebrate exclusion on litchi agroecosystems and to assess farmer
 perceptions of litchi crop damage. An exclusion experiment was conducted
 over two consecutive harvest seasons (2019–2020) on two litchi farms in
 South Africa. Six nylon mesh cages (2×3 cm mesh size) were used to exclude
 flying vertebrates (e.g., bats and birds), monkeys, and large herbivores,
 while allowing access to arthropods and small animals. Two treatments were
 applied, a Full exclusion (closed at all times) and Control (open trees
 with no cage). Each exclusion cage was paired with an open control
 resulting to three paired treatments per farm. Cages were installed three
 months before the 2019 harvest and removed after the 2020 season. In
 parallel, a structured survey was conducted with 51 litchi farmers (13
 commercial and 38 small-scale) to assess their perceptions of litchi crop
 damage caused by vertebrates, invertebrates, and abiotic factors. The
 survey collected data on farm characteristics, yield losses, fruit bat
 activity, management practices, economic impacts, and attitudes toward
 bats and other wildlife. Ethical approval was obtained and all
 participants provided informed consent. ### Files and variables #### File:
 Mphethe-JAPPL-2025.xlsx **Description:** Contains data from the vertebrate
 exclusion experiment conducted on two litchi farms during the 2019 and
 2020 harvest seasons. It also includes responses from 51 litchi farmers
 (13 commercial, 38 small-scale) on perceived crop damage, management
 practices, and bat-related attitudes. ##### Variables (Exclusion
 experiments data) | **Variable Name** | **Description** | |
 :---------------- | :-------------- | | 
 
 | 
 
 | | Farm | Unique identifier for each farm (e.g., F1) | |
 :---------------- |
 :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Tree Name | Unique identifier for each tree in the study | | Treatment | Exclusion treatment applied: FULL (cage), CONTROL (open) | | Year | Year of observation (2019 or 2020) | | First grade (kg) | High quality fruits that meet the top standards for commercial sale and export | | Second grade (kg) | Fruits that do not meet top standards but considered commercially acceptable for sale | | Rejects (kg) | Fruit that failed to meet commercial or consumption standards due to spoilage and are discarded | | Total yield | Total amount of fruit harvested from the caged and control trees | **Variables (Questionnaire data)** | **Variable Name** | **Description** | | :----------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Location | Area where the farm is located | | Farmer Type | Commercial or Small-Scale | | Litchi Yield (kg) | Estimated annual litchi yield (kg) | | Fruit Bat Raids | Frequency of fruit bat activity reported (e.g., every night) | | Bat Damage Percent | Estimated % of yield lost to bats | | Other Damage Groups | Other sources of crop damage (e.g., Birds, Monkeys) | | Bat Management Methods | Practices used (e.g., netting, noise deterrents) | | Litchi Skin | Number of lichi skin found on the ground during litchi season (e.g., plentiful) | | Consulted Expert | Whether the farmer consulted an expert on bat damage (Yes, No) | | Attitude Bats | Farmer's general attitude (e.g., Positive, Neutral, or Negative) | | Bat Ecosystem Services | Whether the farmer is aware bats provide ecological benefits | | Preferred Control Method | Farmer's view on most effective control method | | Bat perception | Farmers perception towards bats (good/bad) | ## Code/software All data analyses and visualizations were conducted using R, a free and open-source statistical computing environment. The data can be viewed and processed using R. although the analyses and results presented in this study were performed using R version 4.4.1 (R Development Core Team, 2024). **Required Software:** * R (version 4.4.1 or later) from [https://www.r-project.org](https://www.r-project.org) * RStudio (optional but recommended for ease of use) **Main R Packages Used:** * lme4 – For fitting linear and generalized linear mixed-effects models * lmerTest – For obtaining p-values and t-tests for mixed-effects models * glmmTMB – For fitting Tweedie GLMMs and other advanced models * DHARMa – For model diagnostics and residual checking * MuMIn – For model selection and AICc calculation * ggplot2 – For data visualization * dplyr, tidyr – For data wrangling * car – For additional statistical tools ## Human subjects data All participants gave informed consent and were assured of anonymity and confidentiality throughout the study