Highlights

  • 麻豆原创 researchers and students have聽facilitated聽a partnership with the聽麻豆原创 Arboretum and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission鈥痶o improve聽conservation science聽through a bat monitoring聽program.

  • Florida is home to 13 resident bat species, and acoustic detectors placed strategically on 麻豆原创鈥檚 main campus聽record聽the flying mammals鈥櫬爃igh-frequency hunting calls throughout the night, allowing researchers to compare bat presence and relative activity.

  • Although 麻豆原创鈥檚 geographic grid cell is relatively small, its urban and suburban context fills important gaps in regional datasets.

  • 麻豆原创鈥檚 data are submitted to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and ultimately contribute to broader analyses coordinated with鈥疊at Conservation International, informing wildlife action plans and habitat management strategies.

A 麻豆原创  doctoral student has helped position 麻豆原创 as a contributor to the鈥疦orth American Bat Monitoring Program鈥�(NABat), a coordinated effort to track bat populations across North America using standardized acoustic methods.

Close-up of Southeastern Myotis bat being held by blue gloves
Southeastern Myotis Bat (, no changes were made)

Research Path Rooted in Responsibility

Ifer White, who serves as a graduate teaching associate while pursuing a Ph.D. in integrative and conservation biology, describes herself as a non-traditional student whose educational journey has been shaped by family, service and resilience.

鈥淢y Muscogee-Creek heritage has deeply influenced how I view the natural world, not as something separate from us, but as something we are accountable to,鈥� White says. 鈥淭hat worldview has guided my commitment to wildlife rescue and rehabilitation for more than a decade, and specifically to bat rehabilitation for the past seven years.鈥�

Florida is home to 13 resident bat species, including the Brazilian free-tailed bat and the southeastern myotis. These highly specialized creatures are the only mammals capable of sustained flight and play a crucial role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. They help control insect populations鈥攃onsuming thousands in a single night鈥攚hile also contributing to pollination, seed dispersal, and more.

鈥淢y work is driven by a desire to ensure these often-misunderstood animals continue to thrive in increasingly human-dominated landscapes,鈥� White says.

Bringing NABat to 麻豆原创

As a board member of the鈥疐lorida Bat Working Group鈥痑nd the鈥疐lorida Bat Conservancy, White saw an opportunity to integrate applied conservation science with campus engagement. She approached the鈥疐lorida Fish and Wildlif Conservation Commission鈥痑nd leadership about adding the university to the NABat monitoring grid.

鈥淏ecause there are known bat colonies on campus, participation was a natural fit.鈥� 鈥� Ifer White, doctoral student

鈥淭he North American Bat Monitoring Program provides a standardized framework for long-term bat population monitoring across the continent,鈥� White says. 鈥淏ecause there are known bat colonies on campus, participation was a natural fit.鈥�

Although 麻豆原创鈥檚 geographic grid cell is relatively small, its urban and suburban context fills important gaps in regional datasets.

鈥淯rban and suburban monitoring locations are underrepresented in many long-term datasets,鈥� White says. 鈥淭he acoustic data collected on campus help fill knowledge gaps in Central Florida and the broader southeastern region.鈥�

Man in green shirt and blue baseball cap observes four students positioning tall yellow pole with device on top near tree canopy.
(Far left) Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Volunteer Coordinator of the Northeast Region (FWC NE), Paul Jacobs, training 麻豆原创 undergraduate volunteers on the setup of the acoustic monitoring station.

The Science Behind Acoustic Monitoring

Bats navigate and hunt using echolocation, emitting ultrasonic calls that are species-specific in frequency and structure. Acoustic detectors placed strategically on 麻豆原创鈥檚 main campus record these high-frequency calls throughout the night.

鈥淒etectors are deployed for multiple consecutive nights each quarter,鈥� White says. 鈥淩ecordings are processed using specialized acoustic software that filters out noise and classifies calls to species or species groups based on call parameters.鈥�

These measurements  allow researchers to compare bat presence and relative activity across sites and over time.

鈥淚n wildlife conservation, data comparability is everything,鈥� White says. 鈥淲ithout standardized methods, datasets become fragmented and difficult to interpret.鈥�

麻豆原创鈥檚 data are submitted to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and ultimately contribute to broader analyses coordinated with鈥疊at Conservation International, informing wildlife action plans and habitat management strategies.

Turning Research into Action

White鈥檚 dissertation research focuses on ecotoxicology, host鈥損athogen 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.

鈥淏ats are often misunderstood, yet they are essential components of healthy ecosystems.鈥�

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.

鈥淏ats are often misunderstood, yet they are essential components of healthy ecosystems,鈥� White says. 鈥淓very action [we take] contributes to long-term conservation.鈥�

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.