This ’groove-billed ani’ bird is common in the cacao forests of northern Peru. Tropical birds like this, together with bats, significantly increase the cacao harvest. Photo: Justine Vansynghel / University of Würzburg
This 'groove-billed ani' bird is common in the cacao forests of northern Peru. Tropical birds like this, together with bats, significantly increase the cacao harvest. Photo: Justine Vansynghel / University of Würzburg Research team led by the Universities of Göttingen and Würzburg highlights importance of critical animal species Without insects, there would be no cacao - a much-desired raw material for the food industry. Insects ensure that the flowers are pollinated and that the cacao fruits develop. In addition, birds and bats contribute significantly to increasing the crop yield. Researchers from the Universities of Würzburg, Göttingen and Vienna, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, have studied this in north-western Peru. The results were published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. "Animals such as birds, bats and insects, and even rodents, are important for cacao agroforestry," explains Justine Vansynghel, a PhD candidate at the Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology at the University of Würzburg.
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