Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers

Read the passage and select ALL correct options. Wrong selections lose points.

Bats play an outsized role in ecosystems, pollinating plants, dispersing seeds, and consuming vast numbers of night-flying insects, including agricultural pests. A single colony can eat millions of insects nightly, reducing the need for chemical pesticides. Despite this, many bat species face steep population declines caused by habitat loss, wind turbine collisions, and a fungal disease known as white-nose syndrome, which has devastated hibernating populations in parts of North America. Conservationists now install specially designed bat boxes near farmland to encourage roosting, while some wind farms adjust turbine operation during low-wind nights when bat activity peaks. Public misconceptions, often fueled by folklore linking bats to disease or bad luck, continue to hinder funding for conservation efforts in several regions.