Research and Conservation Projects
Interests
My research interests lie broadly in endangered mammal species conservation; from population monitoring and habitat use assessment in the wild, to breeding in captivity, education outreach and the interface between conservation science, policy and education. Specifically, I’m interested in the ecology and conservation of flying foxes on islands and providing conservation managers with relevant information to protect species, conserve habitats and mitigate human-bat conflicts.
I am a member of the IUCN (World Conservation Union) Survival Specialist Group’s Chiroptera Specialist Group (CSG), IUCN Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, a Professional Fellow of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA), Steering Committee member for AZA’s Bat Taxon Advisory Group. I manage the IUCN Bat Specialist Group web site at www.iucnbsg.org
Academic Affiliation
Courtesy Associate Professor, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida 2004-2011.
Projects
Programs of ongoing work and projects I collaborate on currently are described below.
My research interests lie broadly in endangered mammal species conservation; from population monitoring and habitat use assessment in the wild, to breeding in captivity, education outreach and the interface between conservation science, policy and education. Specifically, I’m interested in the ecology and conservation of flying foxes on islands and providing conservation managers with relevant information to protect species, conserve habitats and mitigate human-bat conflicts.
I am a member of the IUCN (World Conservation Union) Survival Specialist Group’s Chiroptera Specialist Group (CSG), IUCN Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, a Professional Fellow of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA), Steering Committee member for AZA’s Bat Taxon Advisory Group. I manage the IUCN Bat Specialist Group web site at www.iucnbsg.org
Academic Affiliation
Courtesy Associate Professor, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida 2004-2011.
Projects
Programs of ongoing work and projects I collaborate on currently are described below.
The Southeast Asian Bat Conservation Research Unit: A research collaboration network.
Program Leader Partner : Dr Tigga Kingston, Texas Tech University.
Dates: 2011- 2015
Funding: National Science Foundation
I am a Steering Committee Team Leader on a National Science Foundation “Research Collaboration Network” grant, awarded to Dr Tigga Kingston of Texas Tech University, to support development of the Southeast Asian Bat Conservation Research Unit (SEABCRU). The goal of this project is to develop a network of bat researchers across Southeast Asia, and collate data through the implementation of research activities centered on four priority areas (1) flying fox distributions and population ecology;(2) taxonomy and systematics; (3) cave bat diversity and conservation; (4) response of forest-dependent bats to landscape change. The network will develop standardized research protocols for each priority and train Southeast Asian bat researchers in the protocols through a series of workshops. My collaborative role will focus on training researchers and students in standardized flying fox count methods, finalizing standardized survey forms for bat counts and bushmeat assessments, coordinating projects that will determine current distribution and abundance of species, assess the impact of hunting and the bushmeat trade, identify potential “EID vortex” populations for targeted virus surveillance, and ultimately provide long-term monitoring of flying fox populations across the region. The project will generate unique datasets on the diversity, distribution, abundance and systematics of Southeast Asian bats critical for conservation intervention and that will greatly advance our understanding of biogeographic process, community ecology, and the ecological stressors that promote the emergence of infectious diseases in bats. The project provides research experience for eight US undergraduates, and four US PhD students working with eight Southeast Asian students in teams to support the four priority team leaders.
Steering Committee Team Leaders: Dr Paul Bates (Harrison Institute Centre for Biodiversity and Systematics, UK); Dr Sara Bumrungsri (Prince of Songkla University, Thailand); Dr Tigga Kingston (PI) (Texas Tech University); Dr David Lane (University of Brunei Darussalam); Dr Ibnu Maryanto (Indonesian Institute of Sciences); Tammy Mildenstein (University of Montana); Professor Paul Racey (Aberdeen University, UK); Dr Jodi Sedlock (Lawrence University); Dr Nancy Simmons (American Museum of Natural History); Dr Matthew Struebig (University of Kent); Dr Allyson Walsh (Lubee Bat Conservancy, USA); Dave Waldien (Bat Conservation International); Dr Zubaid Akbar (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia).
Dates: 2011- 2015
Funding: National Science Foundation
I am a Steering Committee Team Leader on a National Science Foundation “Research Collaboration Network” grant, awarded to Dr Tigga Kingston of Texas Tech University, to support development of the Southeast Asian Bat Conservation Research Unit (SEABCRU). The goal of this project is to develop a network of bat researchers across Southeast Asia, and collate data through the implementation of research activities centered on four priority areas (1) flying fox distributions and population ecology;(2) taxonomy and systematics; (3) cave bat diversity and conservation; (4) response of forest-dependent bats to landscape change. The network will develop standardized research protocols for each priority and train Southeast Asian bat researchers in the protocols through a series of workshops. My collaborative role will focus on training researchers and students in standardized flying fox count methods, finalizing standardized survey forms for bat counts and bushmeat assessments, coordinating projects that will determine current distribution and abundance of species, assess the impact of hunting and the bushmeat trade, identify potential “EID vortex” populations for targeted virus surveillance, and ultimately provide long-term monitoring of flying fox populations across the region. The project will generate unique datasets on the diversity, distribution, abundance and systematics of Southeast Asian bats critical for conservation intervention and that will greatly advance our understanding of biogeographic process, community ecology, and the ecological stressors that promote the emergence of infectious diseases in bats. The project provides research experience for eight US undergraduates, and four US PhD students working with eight Southeast Asian students in teams to support the four priority team leaders.
Steering Committee Team Leaders: Dr Paul Bates (Harrison Institute Centre for Biodiversity and Systematics, UK); Dr Sara Bumrungsri (Prince of Songkla University, Thailand); Dr Tigga Kingston (PI) (Texas Tech University); Dr David Lane (University of Brunei Darussalam); Dr Ibnu Maryanto (Indonesian Institute of Sciences); Tammy Mildenstein (University of Montana); Professor Paul Racey (Aberdeen University, UK); Dr Jodi Sedlock (Lawrence University); Dr Nancy Simmons (American Museum of Natural History); Dr Matthew Struebig (University of Kent); Dr Allyson Walsh (Lubee Bat Conservancy, USA); Dave Waldien (Bat Conservation International); Dr Zubaid Akbar (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia).
Flying Fox ecology and conservation, bushmeat and livelihoods, Madagascar.
Program Lead Partner: Dr Richard Jenkins, Madagasikara Voakajy.
Dates: 2003 to present
Funding: Lubee Bat Conservancy, Houston Zoo, AZA CEF/Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund,
Madagascar’s three species of endemic fruit bats play an important role in shaping Madagascar's distinctive landscape through pollen transfer and seed dispersal of endemic flora. All three species are threatened from heavy and sustained hunting as bushmeat, and destruction of, or disturbance at their roosts. Since 2003, Lubee has supported conservation science projects run by “Madagasikara Voakajy”, a national organization working to protect the threatened bats of Madagascar, including a pioneering conservation initiative engaging local volunteers in monitoring bat roost sites. This conservation monitoring project was recognized thru a conservation award from Houston Zoo and a Disney Conservation Hero award. Disney and AZA funding further expanded this program to support projects focused on the role of two endemic fruit bats as pollinators of two species of endangered baobab trees, and the protection of one of the largest Pteropus madagasicarensis sites in existence. I visited northern Madagascar in 2007 to train students and aid with field research filming bats visiting baobab trees. Because of their roosting needs and effects of human disturbance, most fruit bat colonies are located some distance from protected baobab forests and the importance of these outlying island sites was be assessed by carrying out nocturnal observation of fruit bat and lemur visits to flowering baobabs and radio-tracking individual bats. Surveys of roosts inside and outside candidate protected areas gave an unprecedented understanding of the connective landscape ecology of Malagasy fruit bats. Madagasikara Voakajy is using this information to target conservation of these sites and possible revision of preliminary park boundaries to include these outlying, threatened fruit bat colonies. In 2010, I received a Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund grant to support Madagasikara Voakajy's efforts to widen the scope of this program to include detailed bushmeat assessments. Hundreds of kilogrammes of lemurs, bats and carnivores are illegally consumed in Madagascar every year, and people who hunt, trade or prepare bats for food represent a particularly high risk group for exposure to bat-borne diseases. This project will compare survey methods that provide interviewees with anonymity to assess whether previous surveys have underestimated the importance of bat bushmeat in the diet of Malagasy people.
Dates: 2003 to present
Funding: Lubee Bat Conservancy, Houston Zoo, AZA CEF/Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund,
Madagascar’s three species of endemic fruit bats play an important role in shaping Madagascar's distinctive landscape through pollen transfer and seed dispersal of endemic flora. All three species are threatened from heavy and sustained hunting as bushmeat, and destruction of, or disturbance at their roosts. Since 2003, Lubee has supported conservation science projects run by “Madagasikara Voakajy”, a national organization working to protect the threatened bats of Madagascar, including a pioneering conservation initiative engaging local volunteers in monitoring bat roost sites. This conservation monitoring project was recognized thru a conservation award from Houston Zoo and a Disney Conservation Hero award. Disney and AZA funding further expanded this program to support projects focused on the role of two endemic fruit bats as pollinators of two species of endangered baobab trees, and the protection of one of the largest Pteropus madagasicarensis sites in existence. I visited northern Madagascar in 2007 to train students and aid with field research filming bats visiting baobab trees. Because of their roosting needs and effects of human disturbance, most fruit bat colonies are located some distance from protected baobab forests and the importance of these outlying island sites was be assessed by carrying out nocturnal observation of fruit bat and lemur visits to flowering baobabs and radio-tracking individual bats. Surveys of roosts inside and outside candidate protected areas gave an unprecedented understanding of the connective landscape ecology of Malagasy fruit bats. Madagasikara Voakajy is using this information to target conservation of these sites and possible revision of preliminary park boundaries to include these outlying, threatened fruit bat colonies. In 2010, I received a Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund grant to support Madagasikara Voakajy's efforts to widen the scope of this program to include detailed bushmeat assessments. Hundreds of kilogrammes of lemurs, bats and carnivores are illegally consumed in Madagascar every year, and people who hunt, trade or prepare bats for food represent a particularly high risk group for exposure to bat-borne diseases. This project will compare survey methods that provide interviewees with anonymity to assess whether previous surveys have underestimated the importance of bat bushmeat in the diet of Malagasy people.
Roost Site Protection, Kasanka National Park, Zambia.
Program Lead Partner: Frank Willems, Kasanka Trust Ltd.
Dates: 2004, 2010--present
Funding: Lubee Bat Conservancy, Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund.
Zambia hosts an amazing ecological event every year; the migration of approximately eight million Straw-colored Fruit Bats through Kasanka National Park. This annual migration forms probably the largest mammal migration and one of the biggest mammal concentrations in the world. Lubee is working with the park management to explore basic ecological information about the colony and to educate visitors and local school children about the importance and consequences of the bats to the ecology of the region. In 2004, Lubee supported a University of Florida student project student to explore fruit availability and bat foraging in the park and testing the use of satellite transmitter technology to determine where are the bats coming from and where are the bats going to. In 2009, I received a Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund to support conservation work being carried out by Frank Willems of the Kasanka Trust Ltd. To ensure long-term protection of the bat colony, the focus of our project is on education of the local communities, equipping park guards as both guides and protectors of the site, and enhancing site accessibility to generate ecotourism revenue. This migratory colony potentially covers thousands of kilometers during its migration phase, and the prospective loss of this resource has implications for a significant portion of Africa.
Dates: 2004, 2010--present
Funding: Lubee Bat Conservancy, Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund.
Zambia hosts an amazing ecological event every year; the migration of approximately eight million Straw-colored Fruit Bats through Kasanka National Park. This annual migration forms probably the largest mammal migration and one of the biggest mammal concentrations in the world. Lubee is working with the park management to explore basic ecological information about the colony and to educate visitors and local school children about the importance and consequences of the bats to the ecology of the region. In 2004, Lubee supported a University of Florida student project student to explore fruit availability and bat foraging in the park and testing the use of satellite transmitter technology to determine where are the bats coming from and where are the bats going to. In 2009, I received a Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund to support conservation work being carried out by Frank Willems of the Kasanka Trust Ltd. To ensure long-term protection of the bat colony, the focus of our project is on education of the local communities, equipping park guards as both guides and protectors of the site, and enhancing site accessibility to generate ecotourism revenue. This migratory colony potentially covers thousands of kilometers during its migration phase, and the prospective loss of this resource has implications for a significant portion of Africa.
