A VIRTUAL Journey into the Hidden World of Tropical Bats with Scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Join us as we welcome three Smithsonian-affiliated scientists to teach us about the remarkable world of tropical bats.

For decades, scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute have studied the remarkable biodiversity of bats on Barro Colorado Island in Panama, where an astonishing 76species coexist. Now, for the first time, Smithsonian scientists’ expertise pairs with the stunning photography of National Geographic contributor Christian Ziegler for a captivating visual journey into the fascinating world of these elusive night creatures, to bring you the book Bat Island: A Rare Journey into the Hidden World of Tropical Bats.

Bats are unique among mammals: they have acquired true flight, they provide essential ecosystem services, and represent the ecologically most diverse group of mammals worldwide. Synthesizing decades-worth of intensive study, Drs. Rachel Page, Dina Dechmann, Teague O’Mara, and Marco Tschapka provide authoritative insight alongside 150 photographs that showcase bats’ extraordinary environmental adaptations and rich natural history.

This presentation will cover topics from the book, such as the diverse sensory abilities of bats, their foraging strategies, roosting ecologies, and social systems. Bat Island presents decades of study of the hyper diverse bat population on Barro Colorado Island in addition to the most comprehensive and long-term datasets on tropical bats. The book and this presentation highlights how bats are threatened by habitat fragmentation and land degradation, and communicate the initiatives needed to ensure the survival of these animals, which are critical to maintaining healthy, balanced ecosystems.

And let’s not forget, the award-winning photojournalist Ziegler’s photography as the images within the book illuminate the unique beauty and allure of bats and the tropical rainforest in Panama. Register now for this rare look into Bat Island.
About the Presenters

 Dr. Rachel A. Page is a staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, where she leads the Smithsonian Bat Lab. She's broadly interested in animal behavior, but her focus is understanding the sensory and cognitive tools bats use to navigate their worlds and interact with each other. Page has studied bats on Barro Colorado Island and the surrounding areas for over two decades, and lives at the edge of the rainforest in Gamboa, Panama. 

Dr. Dina K. N. Dechmann is a group leader at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and a research associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. An evolutionary ecologist by training, her main research interest is how animals adapt to fluctuations in the resources upon which they depend.  She works in ecosystems across the world, but since her first visit to BCI in 2000, she has been struck by the diversity of the tropical bat community, which remains a cornerstone of her research. Dechmann lives in the medieval town of Stein am Rhein in Switzerland. 

Dr. M. Teague O’Mara is the Director of Conservation Evidence at Bat Conservation International, where he works on data-driven strategies for the conservation of global bat populations. O’Mara has studied animal behavior, movement, and physiology across the globe, with an emphasis on bats in Panama. He is a research associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, and an adjunct professor at Southeastern Louisiana University.  He lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Register here: https://libraryc.org/midlib/57562