Lack of Pollination Knowledge Among Durian Growers Presents Challenges and Opportunities for Fruit Bat Conservation

Background: Pollinators provide an essential ecosystem service for global agricultural production and food security. However, the majority of pollinator conservation focuses on bees. Efforts to understand grower knowledge and perceptions regarding non-bee pollinators are limited. In the case of durian (Durio zibethinus), one of the most popular and economically important fruits in Southeast Asia, fruit bats are the primary natural pollinators, but a large gap in conservation efforts and policies related to this persists. Methods: Data on the perception of 59 Malaysian durian growers towards bat pollinators were collected between 2019 and 2021. Firth’s logistic regression was conducted to investigate the effect of age, gender, ethnicity, and education on farming practices and knowledge of durian pollination ecology. Results: All growers surveyed were aware of wildlife visiting their farms, and 57% felt that killing certain species, which were perceived as most destructive to their crop, was necessary. The importance of bats as pollinators was recognised by 47% of growers, while 29% thought that bees played an important role equal to bats, and 7% said that other taxa act as pollinators. Most growers (96%) did not implement any pollinator-friendly practices and did not express concern that declining bat pollinator populations would result in deleterious outcomes for their crops. Older and ethnic Chinese growers were more likely to practise organic farming, whereas ethnic Malay growers were more likely to have knowledge of durian pollination ecology. Conclusion: Our results showed a deficiency in grower knowledge of durian pollination ecology, which was reflected in their pollination practices and farming approaches. Conservation Implications: Our findings reveal the need for more effective, culturally appropriate communication between conservationists, growers, researchers, and policymakers to disseminate critical durian ecological knowledge and awareness of how certain farming practices may impact the health of pollinating bat populations and associated chiropterophilous crops.