Bat Research: Florida

IC students conduct research at the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge on projects focussed on evening bat (Nycticeius humeralis) roosting behavior using radio-telemetry to identify roost trees and follow the movement patterns of individual bats and roost observation to monitor roosting group size. Part of this work also coordinates with our larger effort to understand more about the population genetics of evening bats as we collect wing tissue samples to compare to populations studied in Illinois, and ultimately the closely related species of evening bat in Cuba - Nycticeius cubanus. While southern Florida is a challenging environment to work in, for students who are interested in any type of field biology, these research opportunities offer the chance to conduct research in a protected national refuge and experience how wildlife biologists of the US Fish and Wildlife Service approach conservation for different species including bats, the endangered Florida Panther, and endangered orchids in collaboration with IC biology professor Larry Zettler and the IC Orchid Recovery Program.