Gamboa, Panama
Dogs can be taught to fetch, but did you know that bats can be trained too? In the Fall of 2014 I worked as a field assistant with the Page Lab at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Gamboa, about 45 minutes away from Panama City. The lab studies a variety of topics related to animal communication using Fringe-Lipped bat (aka Frog-Eating bats, Trachops cirrhosus). Part of my project involved finding the bats and setting up video cameras to record their behavior in the wild. However, studying wild bats becomes a lot easier when you can keep them in captivity. Bats are captured using mist-nets and brought back to the lab where they're placed in a tent overnight. |
Diego the bat yawns between training sessions.
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Lab members hand-feed the bats using freshly caught fish from the Panama Canal. This basic task requires some gastronomical creativity to satisfy these picky eaters: some bats eat fish whole, others won't touch them unless they're cut into tiny pieces. Once they recognize fish as a food source, bats are trained to associate fish with auditory and visual cues so that researchers can test their sensory capabilities. The bats are also video-recorded and monitored so that researchers can learn about their grooming and signaling behavior.
After about two weeks, the bats are returned to where they were trapped in the rainforest, marked with a unique pit tag (and sometimes a new appreciation for heavy metal music).
After about two weeks, the bats are returned to where they were trapped in the rainforest, marked with a unique pit tag (and sometimes a new appreciation for heavy metal music).
Fort Campbell, Kentucky
When you think about life on an army base, wildlife conservation is probably not the first thought that springs to mind. But Fort Campbell, located on the border of both Kentucky and Tennessee, is home to two endangered bat species: the Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalis) and Gray Bat (Myotis grisescens). During the summer of 2015, I worked with the Jackson Environmental Group to capture and identify these and other local bat species found in the backwoods military training areas. The first noticeable thing about working at night is the noise - frogs, insects, and birds are constantly calling to one another. At Fort Campbell, this cacophany is punctuated by the additional sounds of explosions and helicopters. It's a unique work environment, but an increasingly rare example of humans and wildlife successfully sharing resources. This project was part of an annual bat census which helps to determine land use strategies and habitat preservation on the base. Some bats are provided with radios that constantly emit a signal so that they can be tracked using telemetry. Location information helps us to learn about their little-known nesting behavior, as well as their range distribution. |
Gray Bat with a unique wing tag ID
Mist nets are typically set up in open areas between trees where bats are able to easily fly in the pursuit of food and water. The net is rolled down shortly before dusk.
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