Hunting Shrinks Pollinators and Pollination

Museum specimens and field surveys show Madagascar's flying foxes (Pteropus rufus) have declined in body size since about 1980, a trend the authors link to commercial hunting that cut populations by roughly two‑thirds; smaller bats likely carry less pollen, reducing long‑distance pollination. The analysis compares skull and tooth measurements across 150 years and overlays population and hunting timelines to identify the shift. — Selective exploitation can cause rapid, directional phenotypic change in large animal pollinators with downstream effects on ecosystems and human food systems, implying hunting policy is also pollination and food‑security policy.