For decades\, scientists at the Smithsonia n Tropical Research Institute have studied the remarkable biodiversity of bats on Barro Colorado Island in Panama\, where an astonishing seventy-six species coexist. Now\, for the first time\, Smithsonian scientists&rsquo\ ; expertise pairs with the stunning photography of \;National Geog raphic \;contributor Christian Ziegler for a captivating visual j ourney into the fascinating world of these elusive night creatures\, to br ing you the book \;Bat Island: A Rare Journey into the Hidden Worl d of Tropical Bats.
\nBats are unique among mammals: they have acquired true flight\, they provide essential ecosystem services\, and rep resent the ecologically most diverse group of mammals worldwide. Synthesiz ing decades-worth of intensive study\, Drs. Rachel Page\, Dina Dechmann\, Teague O&rsquo\;Mara\, and Marco Tschapka provide authoritative insight al ongside 150 photographs that showcase bats&rsquo\; extraordinary environme ntal adaptations and rich natural history.
\nThis presentation will cover topics from the book\, such as the \;diverse sensory abilities o f bats\, their foraging strategies\, roosting ecologies\, and social syste ms. \;The book and presentation highlight how bats are threatened by h abitat fragmentation and land degradation\, and communicate the initiative s needed to ensure the survival of these animals.
\nAbout th e Presenters:
\nDr. Rachel A. Page \;is a staff scienti st at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama\, where she le ads the Smithsonian Bat Lab. She is broadly interested in animal behavior\, but her focus is understanding th e sensory and cognitive tools bats use to navigate their worlds and intera ct with each other. After completing a BA at Columbia University and a PhD at the University of Texas at Austin\, Page conducted postdoctoral resear ch as an Alexander von Humboldt fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Orn ithology in Seewiesen\, Germany. Page has studied bats on Barro Colorado I sland and the surrounding areas for over two decades. She has a passion fo r understanding rich\, tropical ecosystems and the myriad species interact ions they encompass.
\nDr. Dina K. N. Dechmann \;is a group lead er at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior \;and a research associate at the Smithsonian Tro pical Research Institute. An evolutionary ecologist by training\, her main research interest is how animals adapt to fluctuations in the resources u pon which they depend. She works in ecosystems across the world\, but is e specially interested in \;the diversity of the tropical bat community. She received her master&rsquo\;s degree at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich followed by a PhD at the University of Zurich and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlif e Research in Berlin. Since she was hired by Max Planck in 2009\, she has had the good fortune to supervise a group of brilliant young minds\, sever al of whom now run their own projects in Panama. Dechmann lives in Switzer land. \;
\nDr. M. Teague O&rsquo\;Mara \;is the Director of Conservation Evidence at Bat Conservation International\, where he works o n data-driven strategies for the conservation of global bat populations. O &rsquo\;Mara has studied animal behavior\, movement\, and physiology acros s the globe\, with an emphasis on bats in Panama. He is a research associa te at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Max Planck Insti tute of Animal Behavior\, and an adjunct professor at Southeastern Louisia na University. He received his PhD from Arizona State University studying lemur development and social behavior\, and then switched to research with bats during postdoctoral work at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Instit ute\, the University of Konstanz\, and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany. He lives in Baton Rouge\, Louisiana.
\nhttps://new orleans.libnet.info/event/11522073 URL;VALUE=URI:https://neworleans.libnet.info/event/11522073 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR