This blog is about what its like to be a bat researcher with a little bit about the things I love sprinkled throughout: bats (of course/understood), biology, music as well as the less expected.
Post-field update: I've returned home, almost caught up on sleep and grocery shopping but most importantly I am happy to report that I've been able to find and photograph BAT SPERM! While I have a lot of work to do with my samples this seemed like news worth sharing.
So here is is- my first successful bat sperm sample! Join with me to marvel at this tiny wonder (below).
This particular sample is from an Artibeus jamaicensis (the Jamaican fruit bat). The sperm is as of yet unstained but at least here it is in all of it's glory for a quick glimpse!
We've been busy processing lots of great bats here. Last night was a bit of a mess with a massive storm that rained us all out and forced us to close nets down. Winds were strong enough to rip down branches - some of which almost hit several people! Despite this we did catch some bats (pre-rain).
Also- this morning a big surprise was that two big bats were knocked down from a nearby palm tree and found by workers here where we are staying. We thought these guys were Mollosida rufus but it turns out they were Eumops sp.! Pretty exciting!
In other news- howler monkeys have decided that they like being closer to our cabins!
Tonight an exciting discovery came in the form of a NEOTROPICAL porqupine!
Sorry for the brief blog but I have to hit the hay to get up and check a harp trap in the am... photos to be uploaded soon/next!
It has been extraordinary, wonderful, exciting, thrilling, lovely, great AND awesome to be here in Belize catching bats and working in the field with wonderful scientists such as Nancy Simmons, Sharon Swartz and the 'leader of the pack' Brock Fenton (that is a short list of those who are in attendance- let me say LOTS of other great people!) Lots of nets, harp traps and echolocation recording as well as radio telemetry is happening all around as we speak!
As things are so busy I only have time to mention a few of the most exciting species we've caught so far! Photos and information on each will follow soon.
Belize bats (May 2013):
>Carollia perspicillata- common name: Seba's short-tailed bat
Over the next few days I will be finalizing my preparations to head off for a quick (5 day) trip to the field. Specifically, I will be going to the bat species-rich country of Belize with a group of other bat biologists for a collaborative batting effort! I hope to sample a few bats others are working with as well as get some great photos of less common species. I'll admit that I am excited to catch my old friend from my dissertation: the Jamaican fruit bat (Artibeus jamaicensis). Strange how a species you work with extensively can become like a dear-friend you miss when you don't see it for awhile and that you look forward to catching up with.
My mad dash to pick up essentials included:
Bug spray (DEET included unfortunately a must for the mosquito-prone in the tropics),
batteries for headlamps (*a important item for hours of bat work- I also have 3 headlamps packed 'just in case'),
black velvet for photography of tissues/bats etc.,
duct tape (just case you don't recall why see this post).
I also had to grab a suite of lab supplies as well. Of course these you cannot just pick up at Target! A favorite that will surely last the duration of my Postdoc tenure? Parafilm! Parafilm is a fun tape-like wax that you can use to seal tubes and other containers and is extremely useful and fun to use! Really I would suggest that Parafilm is the scientific version of duct tape. It is incredibly useful.
I leave Monday and look forward to sharing information about the bats we catch! With any luck I will have many an update during my trip (we should have internet access making this possible)! Meanwhile tomorrow will consist of packing the rest of my lab supplies: calipers, pesolas (a spring-based scale used to weigh bats), leather gloves (for handling bats) among other things.
Meanwhile- as I sit and write this- a song (Tropical Iceland by the Fiery Furnaces to be exact) came to mind. Really this song is a little silly but I've always loved how catchy it is and well as you might suspect leaving the North East for the tropics made it come to mind again. Give it a listen! If nothing else the cartoons are both strange and cute. Yes and 'strange and cute' makes me think of some of the bats I hope to catch (see? full circle)! Now feel free to weigh in on the image below is it strange and cute or just strange?
'Don't hate me because I am beautiful!l' an image of Centurio senex the Wrinkle-Faced bat (image by Laval from the American Society of Mammalogistsimage library).
Over the next few days I will be finalizing my preparations to head off for a quick (5 day) trip to the field. Specifically, I will be going to the bat species-rich country of Belize with a group of other bat biologists for a collaborative batting effort! I hope to sample a few bats others are working with as well as get some great photos of less common species. I'll admit that I am excited to catch my old friend from my dissertation: the Jamaican fruit bat (Artibeus jamaicensis). Strange how a species you work with extensively can become like a dear-friend you miss when you don't see it for awhile and that you look forward to catching up with.
I also had to grab a suite of lab supplies as well. Of course these you cannot just pick up at Target! A favorite that will surely last the duration of my Postdoc tenure? Parafilm! Parafilm is a fun tape-like wax that you can use to seal tubes and other containers and is extremely useful and fun to use! Really I would suggest that Parafilm is the scientific version of duct tape. It is incredibly useful.
