A career of bat research: informing and motivating bat conservation

Abstract

Bat conservation has become prevalent over the last few decades due to critical population declines worldwide. Our purpose was to assess whether Brock Fenton’s research career coincided with increasing bat conservation research in Canada and North America. Fenton has made significant contributions to bat research during a long and productive publishing career accompanied by participation in research organizations like the North American Society for Bat Research and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. His conservation research as well as efforts to raise public awareness about these animals has coincided with work for the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada and its equivalent (CASSARO) in Ontario. To assess the impact of his career, we quantified the relative amount of his peer reviewed publications with a conservation focus and compared this with the level of conservation related presentations at annual NASBR conferences. In the same manner, we assessed how often conservation focused applications were funded by the Ecology and Evolution section of the NSERC Discovery grant program. Although it cannot be said with authority that Fenton actually initiated the increase in bat conservation research, our results indicate that his research efforts coincide with and presumably had considerable influence in driving this area of research.

Toward comprehensive Chiroptera modeling: A parametric multiagent model for bat behavior

“…1 There are over 1400 species of bats worldwide and they can be found in nearly all climates except arctic and desert regions. 2 Most bats have a home colony or roost, they will either hibernate through winter or migrate to a warmer climate. 3 Depending on the species, bat colonies can range from fewer than twenty-five to hundreds of thousands.…”

“…They are the only flying mammal and one of the most evolved echolocators on the planet 1 . There are over 1400 species of bats worldwide and they can be found in nearly all climates except arctic and desert regions 2 . Most bats have a home colony or roost, they will either hibernate through winter or migrate to a warmer climate 3 .…”