Would Bats Become as Successful as Birds if They Filled Flying Niches First?

Bats are entirely successful as bats. However, the many species of birds are equally successful in their niches. Evolution by natural selection has consistently ensured their current positions. Let's dive into a thought experiment: if bats had evolved earlier and filled the flying niches before birds, would they have been as successful?

Early Birds vs. Late-Rising Bats

Yes, I believe that bats would have been even more successful. Birds, after all, only began to evolve flight nearly 100 million years after bats did. In that interim, the flying niche during daytime hours was thoroughly exploited by birds. Bats arrived and managed to occupy these niches without echolocation, a remarkable feat indeed.

Shortcomings in Niche Dominance

Some argue that birds evolved from dinosaurs, so the mammals would have needed to predate dinosaurs for bats to occupy these niches. Even if that had happened, the human species and most animals might have been exterminated, resulting in insects becoming the dominant species.

The Success of Bats

Bats make up the taxonomic order Chiroptera, which consists of 1,400 named species and is the second-largest order of mammals. One out of every five mammal species belongs to this order. Bats live on every continent except Antarctica and can be found in almost every single environment except arctic regions. They are already highly successful and could have potentially filled many of the ecological niches that birds filled, albeit with some significant adaptations for waterfowl and other specialized niches.

Adaptations and Flying Expertise

Bats are extraordinarily adapted to be more maneuverable and agile flyers than most birds. This ability allows them to exploit a wide range of niches during the nighttime, when birds typically go to sleep. Furthermore, they compete with and sometimes prey on birds, such as owls, which also operate during different times of the day.

While bats are already demonstrating incredible success and versatility, the thought experiment of what they could achieve with an earlier evolutionary timeline underscores the dynamic nature of ecological success and the unique roles different species play in their ecosystems.