Love Marmite? You should

Dietary specialization is a one-way ticket to oblivion, bat study finds

picky eater Cosmopolitan tastes are good for one’s survival prospects, according to a study published this week in PLoS ONE. Indiana State University biologists Justin Boyles and Jon Storm analyzed the dietary habits of vespertilionid bat species in relation to their IUCN conservation status. Species of least concern enjoy a wider range of prey than those considered to be near threatened, vulnerable or endangered. Although the findings suggest that dietary specialization on its own is not enough to put a species at risk, they strongly suggest it’s a confounding factor. So eat your sprouts and think on. Source: Boyles JG & Storm JJ (2007) The perils of picky eating: dietary breadth is related to extinction risk in insectivorous bats. PLoS ONE DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0000672