image courtesy of Daphne Welter 2015
A different kind of black gold
My work involves understanding the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of endemic bat populations. One aspect of this research relies on bat poop (guano) to describe the seasonal and geographic variation in the diets of bats native to New England. Understanding changes in the diversity and composition of insect species consumed by bats can greatly improve pest management strategies, inform conservation efforts, and shape land use strategies of forested areas affected by invasive pests. We pair high throughput molecular tools with next-generation sequencing technologies to quantify which bats eat what insects, when they eat them, and associate these dynamics with changes in community composition. |
3 minute research overview |
Check out the information below for further information about how the work proceeds. Feel free to contact me at [email protected] if you'd like to participate in the collection process or have any questions.
We recently were in the news too! See David Brooks' article here.
Check out my recent presentation at the Maine Bat Working Group (April 2016) here
We recently were in the news too! See David Brooks' article here.
Check out my recent presentation at the Maine Bat Working Group (April 2016) here
Volunteers performing collections receive a free kit which contain the necessary instructions and tools required to complete three months of guano sampling. Collecting samples is a quick and easy process which requires a few minutes once per week to place individual guano pellets in a small tube containing a nontoxic salt solution. The process begins by identifying the area in your building with the greatest likelihood of guano deposits (a.k.a. where is the biggest pile of poop?). The area is swept clean and a plastic sheet is secured to the floor. Each week participants transfer individual pellets into collection tubes; after 4 weeks of sampling, this box of the samples is mailed to our lab and we perform the molecular tests required to obtain the identities of the insects and bat species associated with the guano. See the slideshow below for a brief description of the molecular techniques used to identify the species of arthropods (insects and spiders) present in the guano. |
|
Partial funding was provided by the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station. This work is/was supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, McIntire-Stennis Project 1006866.