Previous Research
Throughout my career I have worked towards cultivating a wide range of research questions that can be answered by a variety of scientific tools and techniques. Although I consider myself a strong field biologist, I have also worked on research questions that require lab and quantitative skills to answer.
During my Ph.D., my team and I investigated the winter behavior of bats in the Southeastern United States. I used a variety of methods to monitor bat activity throughout the winter (October - April) including passive acoustic detectors (SM2 Bat+ and Anabat units) and winter trapping at cave entrances (see photo below; January 2013).
Through the use of acoustic detectors deployed at the entrance of hibernacula (recording 24/7), we were able to determine that, prior to WNS, bats in the Southeast were active throughout winter. Activity was largely associated with the ambient temperature (outside of the cave) during emergence (30 minutes prior to dusk). As WNS moved into the region, aberrant activity, such as leaving the cave during the day and during extremely low temperatures, became more apparent. Within the two years of my study, which varied from 0 to 5 years post-WNS at these hibernacula, all bat activity had declined significantly.
Capturing bats at these winter sites allowed us to monitor the physical health of the bats hibernating in the area. When captured, we would record biometric data such as species, sex, forearm length, mass and reproductive condition. We would also collect guano and epidermal swab samples. By examining the guano, we were able to determine that bats actively forage during winter in the Southeast. Epidermal swab samples (analyzed by Dr. Jeff Foster & Katy Parise at UNH), allowed us to identify differences in susceptibility (fungal load and prevalence).
Because of this research, we are now working on several new projects funded by USFWS (identifying differences in torpor bout, foraging patterns and survival of Southeastern cave bats), NPS (tri-colored bat summer roosting habitat), and the Great Smoky Mountains Conservation Association (differences in fall swarming and spring staging behavior of bats in Great Smoky Mountains National Park).
Above: Dr. Emma Willcox, Reilly Jackson (FWF Master's student) and I are installing a PIT (passive integrative transponder) tag reader into the mouth of a cave (September 2016).
During the summer of 2017, Dr. Emma Willcox (UT), Reilly Jackson (UT) and I initiated a collaborative research project with the Cambodian Wildlife and Forestry Administration (Upper Right Photo). The aim of this project is to determine the economic and agricultural benefits of insectivorous bats in rural Cambodia where cave and karst features are being heavily mined due the push to increase infrastructure (roads, buildings, etc.) in the capital, Phenom Penh.
In order to conserve species effectively, scientists must take into account all objectives a management agency must consider, prior to deciding upon a management action. Often times, this include management objectives unrelated to the species of conservation concern but are equally important to the management jurisdiction (i.e., public access and recreation, multi-use management, and agency mission). Using tools from Structured Decision Making, I help natural resource managers find solutions to their decision problems by way of a rational and transparent process. In my current position, I work with managers at state, federal, and provincial agencies interested in identifying how to minimize the introduction and/or spread of disease and maximize the population persistence of their species of concern, while addressing other objectives deemed necessary by their management agency [Bernard & Grant, under review at Society and Natural Resources]. I have become increasingly involved with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service WNS Coordination team, as well as the Bsal Task Force (salamander chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans), to work through decision problems associated with disease interventions, research priorities, and funding allocation plans. Recently, I worked with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on identifying a suite of actions they could use to minimize the spread of P. destructans and the threat of WNS in tri-colored bat populations hibernating in culverts.
Large photo: Testing Eastern red-spotted newts (Notophthalmus viridescens) for the fungus that causes Salamander chytridiomycosis (Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans). Top left: Surveying for stream salamanders in Acadia National Park. Bottom left: Tagging salamanders for a mark-recapture study in Shenandoah National Park.
Photo: Facilitating a workshop to create a comprehensive influence diagram of the bat host - P. destructans/WNS system. Workshop participants represented state, federal and provincial agency managers and scientists, academia, and non-profit organizations
Above Left: Participants and facilitators from a Vermont WNS workshop in April 2016. The goals of the workshop were to help Vermont managers determine the best course of action to manage a little brown bat population that has persisted in the face of WNS. Above Right: Participants at a workshop to help state and federal agencies in Idaho determine how best to manage a population of bats in a large tourist cave. Participants at both workshops included state and federal agencies, non-profit entities, and academic institutions.