We’ve included a short description of some of our favorite projects below. But we’re always following our winged muses to new places, so check back later to see what’s new in the Lab.
Histiotus magellanicus captured in Karukinka National Park, Chile
THe southernmost bats
We literally go to the ends of the Earth for our winged friends! Patagonia is home to the southernmost bats of the world, and we travel there each year to study how bats survive in these relatively cold, harsh environments.
Myotis lucifugus roosting in an abandoned building in the Park.
population dynamics of little brown bats
Believe it or not, counting bats has long been a dream of ours. Many parts of the world lack caves or mines where hibernating bats can be counted easily. In one such region, Yellowstone National Park, we’ve established a long-term monitoring program to follow populations using new technologies.
Outside an abandoned railroad tunnel home to Ohio’s second largest population of hibernating Myotis lucifugus.
Protecting ohio’s hibernacula
White-nose syndrome has devastated bats in our home state. But there are still some left, and we’re always looking for more! A big part of the our work at home is determining where remnant populations of bats are found, why bats are still there, and protecting them.
identifying important habitat for red bats in ohio
White-nose syndrome has devastated bats in our home state. But there are still some left, and we’re always looking for more! A big part of the our work at home is determining where remnant populations of bats are found, why bats are still there, and protecting them.
Graduate student Elijah Lee looking out over one of his study areas in Yellowstone National Park
modeling occupancy of bat species in yellowstone national park
Lucky for us (but bad for bats!), there is still so much to learn about bats. Case in point, it’s unclear what bat communities look like for many places even in North America. Recently, we began a new study in Yellowstone looking at where certain species are found, and why.
Studying Northern myotis migration
Although many of the bat species threatened by white-nose syndrome congregate in large numbers within underground hibernacula, the winter whereabout and migration patterns of other species are a mystery. One such species is the northern myotis (Myotis septentrionalis). The recent expansion of the Motus network in the eastern United States is providing us an opportunity to study movement of this, and other species, at a landscape scale.