Save Brandon Hill Cave

Jon Flanders, Ph.D. – Director, Endangered Species Interventions

Dr. Jon Flanders is responsible for leading conservation initiatives that effectively address BCI’s global conservation priorities. With over 20 years of experience working on conservation projects across the globe, Jon recognizes the importance of partnerships in delivering social, environmental and economic benefits. Working with a range of organizations, from small non-profits to government departments he can strategically prioritize projects that balance conservation needs with sustainability.

Jon received his Ph.D. from the University of Bristol where he integrated investigations of the ecology, diet, and population genetics of the greater horseshoe bat to advance its conservation. Prior to joining BCI, Jon had worked extensively across Asia and Central America leading a variety of conservation-related research projects, as well as teaching workshops and outreach efforts for local researchers and students. 

Jon is an Adjunct Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Tulane University and a Research Associate at the American Museum of Natural History. 

Melquisedec Gamba-Rios, Ph.D. – Regional Director, Latin America & Caribbean

Melquisedec is the ESI Team’s Regional Director for Latin America and & Caribbean Initiatives. In this role, Melqui is responsible for identifying priority areas for the Endangered Species Interventions team to focus, and work with in-country partners to co-develop effective strategies to protect and recover endangered bat species, populations, or habitats. 

Melqui has been working with bat ecology and conservation for over 20 years. Originally from Colombia, Melqui conducted most of his research work in Costa Rica. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, where he investigated antipredator behaviors in bats and the implication in bat communication and sociality. He has published work on topics including species distribution, habitat selection, and roost requirements for multiple bat species, with a particular emphasis on the neotropics.

Regional Director, Mexico & Latin America

Born and raised in Mexico, Ana earned her Ph. D. from University of Miami studying how habitat fragmentation impacts movement of tropical forest birds, until she discovered bats! Ana completed her postdoctoral research and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) working on bat ecology and conservation. For the last 10 years, she has been dedicated to monitoring the effects that habitat transformation has on bats and their habitats, and how to better prevent, manage and restore bat populations. Ana is an active member of the Mexican Program for the Conservation of Bats (PCMM) where she participates as advisor for conservation, monitoring, and educational programs. She is a Fulbright Scholar and National Geographic Explorer.

Ana joins BCI as the in-country advisor for Endangered Species Interventions in Mexico, aiming to facilitate and expand BCI´s activities in Mexico and Latin America, while promoting collaboration with local partners, and building capacity with local agencies and communities to monitor, manage and conserve bats.

Jennifer Barros, Ph.D. – Gerente do Programa Brasil

As BCI’s Brazil Program Manager, Jennifer is responsible for leading our cave conservation initiative in Brazil while supporting other projects across Latin America. In this role, Jennifer will work with local communities, NGOs, and Government agencies across Brazil to drive the most effective conservation strategies to protect and enhance critical roost sites for endangered bat species and large colonies throughout the region. Brazil supports one of the richest diversities of bats in the world; of the 181 species of bats currently known to occur in Brazil, 45% are known to roost in caves.

With over ten years of experience studying bats, Jennifer received her master’s from the Universidade Federal de Lavras and her Ph.D. from the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco in Brazil, where she focused on bat cave selection across multiple habitats and developed a prioritization strategy for cave conservation in Brazil. Her research led to a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Konstanz, Germany, to understand the behavioral ecology in cave bat roosting energetic strategies. Jennifer is a former BCI student scholar and, prior to joining BCI, Jennifer has worked extensively across Brazil on cave conservation efforts to minimize the impacts of mining – one of the main threats in the country for bats and caves.