- Common Name
- Florida Bonneted Bat
- Scientific Name
- Eumops floridanus
- Status
- Federally Endangered
- Location
- South Florida
The goal of this work is to protect and enhance Florida bonneted bat populations through the creation of new roosting habitat and protection of foraging habitat so they are de-listed from the Endangered Species Act.
The Need
The federally endangered Florida bonneted bat (Eumops floridanus) is one of the rarest species of bats in the United States. While there are still
many aspects of this bat’s ecology that remain unknown, the majority of research has focused on populations on the west coast of Florida that occur in existing protected areas. However, research carried out by BCI has shown that urban areas provide critical habitat for Florida bonneted bat populations, with colonies utilizing buildings and bat boxes as roosts.
Our Approach
In collaboration with Zoo Miami, we lead key research to understand species distribution, foraging habits, and diet in the urban environment. This includes building, monitoring, and assessing the effectiveness of specially-designed artificial roosts for Florida bonneted bats in Miami to increase roost availability, as well as working with Federal and State Agencies to ensure both roosting and foraging habitat are effectively protected.
Our Impact
Thanks to the efforts of our ongoing work, we have created the largest known population of Florida bonneted bats across its entire range. Our work has also prevented the development of the most important foraging area for this species in the whole of Miami, and provided key evidence to help shape the Florida bonneted bat critical habitat designation.
Further work will allow us to design and help implement the recovery plan for this species, and establish long-term protection measures in urban environments to mitigate the impacts of urban expansion.
Project Achievements
A Victory for Habitat
A major conservation victory has halted the proposed Miami Wilds development, protecting the Florida bonneted bat and the critically endangered Pine Rocklands ecosystem in Miami-Dade County.
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2019-2021 Report
See how the Miami Bat Lab partnership have worked since 2019 to detect, monitor, and support urban Florida bonneted bats in the Miami-Dade area.
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Miami Residents
Learn more about how you can support your neighborly Florida bonneted bat and report sightings.
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About the Bat
The Team
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.
Stephanie Brinez – Endangered Species Interventions Specialist
Stephanie got her B.S. in Biology from the Wilke’s Honors College at Florida Atlantic University where she got her first glimpse into bat research. She completed her thesis on bat acoustic monitoring in the greenways around ger campus and detected the Florida Bonneted Bat. This sparked her interest for the species because it was an endangered species in her own backyard, which she continued to research as she furthered her education.
Following her undergraduate studies she worked as a veterinary technician and a wildlife rehabber before pursuing her M.S. in Conservation Medicine at Tufts University. This led her to a fellowship position with US Fish and Wildlife collaborating with BCI to collect data for the NABAT in California.
In a full circle kind of way, Stephanie now gets to work to protect the bat that sparked her interest in her undergrad.
In addition to her passion about bat conservation, she is also passionate about fitness and loves to travel to complete Spartan obstacle course race around the US.
