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. \;Bat Island \;presents decades of study of the hyper diverse bat population on Barro Colorado Island in addition to the most c omprehensive and long-term datasets on tropical bats. The book and this pr esentation highlights how bats are threatened by habitat fragmentation and land degradation\, and communicate the initiatives needed to ensure the s urvival of these animals\, which are critical to maintaining healthy\, bal anced ecosystems.
\nAnd let&rsquo\;s not forget\, the award-winning photojournalist Christian Ziegler&rsquo\;s photography as the images withi n the book illuminate the unique beauty and allure of bats and the tropica l rainforest in Panama. Register now for this rare look into \;Bat Isl and!
\nDr. Rachel A. Page \;is a staff scientis t at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama\, where she lea ds the Smithsonian Bat Lab (www.noseleaf.org). She is broadly interested i n animal behavior\, but her focus is understanding the sensory and cogniti ve tools bats use to navigate their worlds and interact with each other. A fter completing a BA at Columbia University and a PhD at the University of Texas at Austin\, Page conducted postdoctoral research as an Alexander vo n Humboldt fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen \, Germany. Page has studied bats on Barro Colorado Island and the surroun ding areas for over two decades. She has a passion for understanding rich\ , tropical ecosystems and the myriad species interactions they encompass. In addition to conducting her own research\, Page mentors a large group of students. Page lives at the edge of the rainforest in Gamboa\, Panama.&nb sp\;
\nDr. Dina K. N. Dechmann \;is a group lea der at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (www.ab.mpg.de/dechmann ) and a research associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. An evolutionary ecologist by training\, her main research interest is how animals adapt to fluctuations in the resources upon which they depend. Sh e is fascinated by how tiny mammals with fast metabolisms\, such as bats a nd shrews\, adapt their morphology\, physiology\, and behavior to deal wit h the bottlenecks created by changes in the food landscape. She works in e cosystems across the world\, but since her first visit to BCI in 2000\, sh e has been struck by the diversity of the tropical bat community\, which r emains a cornerstone of her research. She received her master&rsquo\;s deg ree 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 Wildlife Research in Berlin. Since she was h ired by Max Planck in 2009\, she has had the good fortune to supervise a g roup of brilliant young minds\, several of whom now run their own projects in Panama. Dechmann lives in the medieval town of Stein am Rhein in Switz erland. \;
\nDr. M. Teague O&rsquo\;Mara \; is the Director of Conservation 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\, a nd physiology across the globe\, with an emphasis on bats in Panama. He is a research associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and t he Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior\, and an adjunct professor at S outheastern Louisiana University. He received his PhD from Arizona State U niversity studying lemur development and social behavior\, and then switch ed to research with bats during postdoctoral work at the Smithsonian Tropi cal Research Institute\, the University of Konstanz\, and the Max Planck I nstitute of Animal Behavior in Germany. He lives in Baton Rouge\, Louisian a.
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