/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201cBecause there are known bat colonies on campus, participation was a natural fit./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201d /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u2014 Ifer White, doctoral student/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201cThe North American Bat Monitoring Program provides a standardized framework for long-term bat population monitoring across the continent,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201d White says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201cBecause there are known bat colonies on campus, participation was a natural fit./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n
Although UCF/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u2019s geographic grid cell is relatively small, its urban and suburban context fills important gaps in regional datasets./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201cUrban and suburban monitoring locations are underrepresented in many long-term datasets,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201d White says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201cThe acoustic data collected on campus help fill knowledge gaps in Central Florida and the broader southeastern region./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n(Far left) Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Volunteer Coordinator of the Northeast Region (FWC NE), Paul Jacobs, training UCF undergraduate volunteers on the setup of the acoustic monitoring station./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/nThe Science Behind Acoustic Monitoring/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n Bats navigate and hunt using echolocation, emitting ultrasonic calls that are species-specific in frequency and structure. Acoustic detectors placed strategically on UCF/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u2019s main campus record these high-frequency calls throughout the night./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201cDetectors are deployed for multiple consecutive nights each quarter,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201d White says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201cRecordings are processed using specialized acoustic software that filters out noise and classifies calls to species or species groups based on call parameters./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n
These measurements allow researchers to compare bat presence and relative activity across sites and over time./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201cIn wildlife conservation, data comparability is everything,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201d White says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201cWithout standardized methods, datasets become fragmented and difficult to interpret./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n
UCF/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u2019s data are submitted to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and ultimately contribute to broader analyses coordinated with/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u202fBat Conservation International, informing wildlife action plans and habitat management strategies./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n
Turning Research into Action/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n White/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u2019s dissertation research focuses on ecotoxicology, host/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u2013pathogen dynamics and immunogenetics in bats. While distinct from the monitoring project, she says understanding species presence and habitat use provides essential ecological context for studying environmental stressors./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201cBats are often misunderstood, yet they are essential components of healthy ecosystems./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n
Acoustic data will also help determine which species are using campus habitats and guide potential enhancements, such as strategically placed bat houses and expanded native, night-blooming plantings to support nocturnal insect populations./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201cBats are often misunderstood, yet they are essential components of healthy ecosystems,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201d White says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201cEvery action [we take] contributes to long-term conservation./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n
This research and the skills and tactics she’s putting to use with this project are directly transferable to the careers Knights with similar research backgrounds can pursue after graduation in wildlife agencies and environmental consulting./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By bringing the North American Bat Monitoring Program to campus, one doctoral researcher/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/u2019s data looks to fill knowledge gaps in Florida and beyond./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":151507,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[54523,23,24],"tags":[488,982,1066,14916,4852],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-151499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-research","category-science-technology","tag-biology","tag-college-of-sciences","tag-conservation-biology","tag-research","tag-ucf-arboretum"],"yoast_head":"/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n
UCF Aiding Healthy Ecosystems Through Bat Conservation Advancements/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/t /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/151499/n