Education

Ph.D. Program at University of Maryland, Fall 2009-now 

Advisor: Jerry Wilkinson 

M.Sc. University of Western Ontario, 2006-2008 

Advisors: Brock Fenton and Paul Faure 

Masters Thesis: Vocal communication in the white-winged vampire bat

B.Sc. Cornell University, 2001-2005, w/ Honors & Distinction in Research
Advisor: Irby Lovette

Honors Thesis: Noninvasive DNA-based identification of avian hosts of vampire bats

• Carter G, J Ratcliffe, and B Galef. 2010. Flower bats (Glossophaga soricina) and fruit bats (Carollia perspicillata) rely on spatial cues over shapes and scents when relocating food. PLoS ONE. 5(5): e10808. (open access)
• Carter G, B Fenton, and P Faure. 2009. White-winged vampire bats (Diaemus youngi) exchange contact calls. Canadian Journal of Zoology. 87:604-608. (PDF)
• Carter G, M Skowronski, P Faure, B Fenton. 2008. Antiphonal calling allows individual discrimination in white-winged vampire bats. Animal Behaviour. 76:1343-1355. (PDF) (Video) (Press)
• Riskin D, S Parsons, W Schutt, G Carter, J Hermanson. 2006. Terrestrial locomotion of the New Zealand short-tailed Bat (Mystacina tuberculata) and the Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus). Journal of Experimental Biology. 209:1725-1736. (PDF) (Press)
• Carter G, C Coen, L Stenzler, I Lovette. 2006. Avian host DNA isolated from the feces of white-winged vampire bats (Diaemus youngi). Acta Chiropterologica. 8(1):255-259. (PDF) (Press)
• Carter G, D Riskin. 2006. Mystacina tuberculata. Mammalian Species. 790:1-8. (PDF)

Outreach and other publications 

• Carter G. 2011. Food sharing in vampire bats. Bat Conservation Journal. Organization for Bat Conservation. Fall 2011 Issue.
• Carter G. 2011. The future of bat research and conservation. Sonorensis Magazine: Celebrating Bats. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. 31:1. (PDF)
• Carter G. 2008. Vocal communication in the white-winged vampire. M.Sc. Thesis. University of Western Ontario. (PDF)
• Carter G. 2005. Bat diversity and abundance in Cusuco National Park core zone, Honduras. Internal report for Operation Wallacea, UK. (PDF)
• Carter G. 2005. Non-invasive identification of avian hosts of vampire bats using fecal DNA. Honors Thesis. Cornell University. (PDF)
• Carter G. 2004. A field key to the bats of Trinidad. Distributed to the Wildlife Section of the Forestry Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Trinidad. Updated in 2010. (PDF)

Invited presentations

• Carter G. 2008. Antiphonal exchanges allow individual discrimination in white-winged vampire bats. 88th American Society of Mammalogists Meeting, Brookings, South Dakota. (Winner of A. Brazier Howell Award)
• Carter G. 2007. Why do they duet? Antiphonal calling in white-winged vampires. Instituto de Ecología, UNAM, Mexico.

Conference presentations

• Carter G. 2011. Evolution of Cooperation: why do unrelated vampire bats share food with each other? Conference of Ford Fellows. Irvine, CA. (poster)
• Carter G. 2011. Food Sharing Between Unrelated Vampire Bats: Cooperation, Byproduct, or Coercion? 41st North American Symposium on Bat Research, Toronto, ON.
• Carter G, R Mies, and G Wilkinson. 2011. Reciprocal food sharing in vampire bats revisited. 91st Annual American Society of Mammalogists Meeting, Portland, OR.
• Carter G, A Shaked, and G Wilkinson. 2010. Reciprocal food sharing in vampire bats revisited. 40th North American Symposium on Bat Research, Denver, CO.
• Carter G, J Ratcliffe, and B Galef. 2010. Spatial cues overshadow shape and scent cues in a fruit and flower bat. Animal Behavior Society Meeting, Williamsburg, NC.
• Carter G. 2009. Flower bats (Glossophaga soricina) and fruit bats (Carollia perspicillata) rely on spatial cues over shapes and scents when relocating food. 39th North American Symposium on Bat Research, Portland, OR.
• Carter G, A Menchaca, M Nowak, and R Medellin. 2008. Do all three vampires duet? 38th North American Symposium on Bat Research, Scranton, PA.
• Carter G, M Skowronski, P Faure, and B Fenton. 2007. Vocal communication in white-winged vampires (Diaemus youngi). 14th International Bat Research Conference, Merida, Mexico.
• Carter G, M Skowronski, B Fenton and P Faure. 2007. Do adult vampires duet at night? Antiphonal calling among adult white-winged vampire bats (Diaemus youngi). 87th American Society of Mammalogists Meeting, Albuquerque, NM.
• Carter G. 2006. Antiphonal calling behaviour in white-winged vampires (Diaemus youngi). 36th North American Symposium on Bat Research, Wilmington, NC.
• Carter G, C Coen. 2006. Investigating host preferences in the white- winged vampire (Diaemus youngi). Annual Bat Association of Taiwan Meeting. Taiwan Endemic Species Research Institute, Taiwan.
• Carter G, I Lovette, J Hermanson. 2004. Noninvasive identification of the avian host species of white-winged vampire bats (Diaemus youngi) from fecal samples. 34th North American Symposium on Bat Research, Salt Lake City, Utah. (Winner of 2004 Bat Research News Award)

Outreach presentations

• Carter G. 2011. The evolution of cooperation and the curious case of vampire bat blood donors. Howard Hughes Medical Institute JumpStart Program.
• Carter G. 2010. Encounters with vampire bats. Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. 12/22/10. 

Awards, grants, and scholarships

2011     Eugenie Clark Summer Fellowship, University of Maryland ($2,100)

2011     Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, National Academy of Sciences ($66,000)

2010     Grant-in-Aid of Research, American Society of Mammalogists ($1,439)

2010     Research Grant, Explorer's Club Washington Group ($1,000)

2010     Cosmos Scholar Grant ($2,000)

2010     Sigma Xi Grant in Aid of Research ($400)

2009     University of Maryland Graduate Fellowship

2008     A. Brazier Howell Award, American Society of Mammalogists ($1,500)
2007     Ontario Graduate Scholarship ($10,000)
2007     Graduate Student Teaching Award, University of Western Ontario ($600)
2005     Magna cum laude, Cornell University

2005     Paul Schreurs Memorial Award, Cornell University (for excellence in undergraduate research, $500)
2004     Bat Research News Award, North American Society for Bat Research (for outstanding oral paper, $500)
2001     Robert and Helen Appel Presidential Research Scholarship, Cornell University (scholarship + $10,000 grant for research)

Teaching experience

2011 Principles of Genetics, University of Maryland

2010 Contract Naturalist, Audubon Naturalist Society, Woodend Nature Sanctuary

2009 Human Anatomy and Physiology, University of Maryland

2007 Activity Leader and Teaching Assistant at Tunbridge One Planet Afterschool Program, Tunbridge, Vermont. I developed and led an 8-week course called “Curious Naturalists”

2007 Tutorial leader for Introductory Biology, University of Western Ontario (UWO)

2006 Teaching assistant (TA) for Animal Behaviour, UWO (2007 Graduate Student Teaching Award)

2006 TA for Introductory Biology, laboratory, UWO

2004 TA for Field Biology, Cornell University

Technical experience

2009            Research assistant to Dr. Jeff Galef, Department of Psychology, McMaster University.

2006            Bat Specialist for Operation Wallacea- conducted first survey of bat fauna of Cusuco National Park core zone, Honduras

2003-2004    Field assistant to Dan Riskin- mistnetting, filming, design of experimental components, data collection, and calibration of equipment

2002-2005    Research assistant to Dr. Irby Lovette, Evolutionary Biology molecular lab, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology

Professional memberships

North American Society of Bat Research, since 2004 

American Society of Mammalogists, since 2006 

Animal Behavior Society, since 2009 

Sigma Xi, since 2009

Reviewer experience

Biology Letters, PLoS One, Acta Chiropterologica, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology

References

Prof. Jerry Wilkinson, University of Maryland

Prof. John Ratcliffe, University of Southern Denmark

Dr. Daniel Riskin, Discovery Channel  

Prof. Brock Fenton, University of Western Ontario

Prof. Paul Faure, McMaster University

Prof. John Hermanson, Cornell University

Prof. Irby Lovette, Cornell University

Prof. Jeff Galef, McMaster University, Professor Emeritus

Dr. Rachel Freer, Operation Wallacea