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 Geograph ic \;contributor Christian Ziegler for a captivating visual journey in to the fascinating world of these elusive night creatures\, to bring you t he book \;Bat Island: A Rare Journey into the Hidden World of Tropical Bats.
\nBats are unique among mammals: they have acquired true flig ht\, they provide essential ecosystem services\, and represent the ecologi cally most diverse group of mammals worldwide. Synthesizing decades-worth of intensive study\, Drs. Rachel Page\, Dina Dechmann\, Teague O&rsquo\;Ma ra\, and Marco Tschapka provide authoritative insight alongside 150 photog raphs that showcase bats&rsquo\; extraordinary environmental adaptations a nd rich natural history.
\nThis presentation will cover topics from the book\, such as the \;diverse sensory abilities of bats\, their for aging strategies\, roosting ecologies\, and social systems. \;Bat Isla nd \;presents decades of study of the hyper diverse bat population on Barro Colorado Island in addition to the most comprehensive and long-term datasets on tropical bats. The book and this presentation highlights how b ats are threatened by habitat fragmentation and land degradation\, and com municate the initiatives needed to ensure the survival of these animals\, which are critical to maintaining healthy\, balanced ecosystems.
\nA nd let&rsquo\;s not forget\, the award-winning photojournalist Christian Z iegler&rsquo\;s photography as the images within the book illuminate the u nique beauty and allure of bats and the tropical rainforest in Panama. Reg ister now for this rare look into \;Bat Island!
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\n< p>About the Presenters\n\;Dr. Rachel A. Page \;is a staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama\, where she leads the Smithsonian Bat Lab (www.noseleaf.org). She is broadly inte rested in animal behavior\, but her focus is understanding the sensory and cognitive tools bats use to navigate their worlds and interact with each other. After completing a BA at Columbia University and a PhD at the Unive rsity of Texas at Austin\, Page conducted postdoctoral research as an Alex ander von Humboldt fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in S eewiesen\, Germany. Page has studied bats on Barro Colorado Island and the surrounding areas for over two decades. She has a passion for understandi ng rich\, tropical ecosystems and the myriad species interactions they enc ompass. In addition to conducting her own research\, Page mentors a large group of students. Page lives at the edge of the rainforest in Gamboa\, Pa nama. \;
\nDr. Dina K. N. Dechmann \;is a group leader at th e Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (www.ab.mpg.de/dechmann) and a r esearch associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. An evolu tionary ecologist by training\, her main research interest is how animals adapt to fluctuations in the resources upon which they depend. She is fasc inated by how tiny mammals with fast metabolisms\, such as bats and shrews \, adapt their morphology\, physiology\, and behavior to deal with the bot tlenecks created by changes in the food landscape. She works in ecosystems across the world\, but since her first visit to BCI in 2000\, she has bee n struck by the diversity of the tropical bat community\, which remains a cornerstone of her research. She received her master&rsquo\;s degree at th e 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 I nstitute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin. Since she was hired by M ax Planck in 2009\, she has had the good fortune to supervise a group of b rilliant young minds\, several of whom now run their own projects in Panam a. Dechmann lives in the medieval town of Stein am Rhein in Switzerland.&n bsp\;
\nDr. M. Teague O&rsquo\;Mara \;is the Director of Conserv ation Evidence at Bat Conservation International\, where he works on data- driven strategies for the conservation of global bat populations. O&rsquo\ ;Mara has studied animal behavior\, movement\, and physiology across the g lobe\, with an emphasis on bats in Panama. He is a research associate at t he Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior\, and an adjunct professor at Southeastern Louisiana Univ ersity. He received his PhD from Arizona State University studying lemur d evelopment and social behavior\, and then switched to research with bats d uring postdoctoral work at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute\, t he University of Konstanz\, and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavio r in Germany. He lives in Baton Rouge\, Louisiana.
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