BCI announced today the selection of the organization’s 2020 Student Scholars for global bat conservation priorities.
02.05.20
Recognizing Hard Work and Commitment Around the World –
Bat Conservation International Congratulates Our 2020 Student Scholars
Special Recognition for Temidayo Adeyanju, Winner of Women in Science Award, and Annabel Dorrestein, Winner of Verne & Marion Read Bat Conservation Award
AUSTIN, TX (February 5, 2020) – Bat Conservation International (BCI) announced today the selection of the organization’s 2020 Student Scholars for global bat conservation priorities. These scholarships are awarded to emerging scholars whose ideas have inspired us and whose work is of great value to both the scientific community and bat conservation across the globe. The BCI student scholarship program has awarded more than $1.2 million dollars to 415 emerging scholars since it began.
The diverse group of student scholars recognized this year are pursuing research topics ranging from “Bat nights with bulbs bright: Impact of anthropogenic lighting on the Indian flying fox (Pteropus giganteus),” to “Effects of forest degradation on bats at South and North Nandi Forests, western Kenya”. Applicants were required to submit work that covered one of three conservation categories: understanding human-caused environmental changes on bats, resolving bat and human conflicts, and answering questions that can inform conservation of globally imperiled bat species.
In addition to the 2020 award recipients, BCI also honors Temidayo Adeyanju, recipient of the BCI Women in Science award, and Annabel Dorrestein, who was awarded the Verne & Marion Read Bat Conservation Award. Temidayo’s research will focus on “Assessing the impacts of land use on bat species and activities in Omo Biosphere Reserve, Southwest” and will be conducted in Nigeria, while Annabel uses drones to learn more about the habits of the endemic Christmas Island flying fox on Christmas Island in Australia.
“Conservation on a global scale requires expanding research capabilities to match needs,” said Amanda M. Adams, Ph.D. Conservation Research Program Manager at BCI. “As research informs our understanding of threats, we can then take bold actions to protect bats around the world. We thank all of our applicants and our fourteen 2020 Student Scholar winners for their commitment to preserving bat species around the world.”
2020 Bat Conservation International Student Scholars
Recipient: Rafael Léon-Madrazo
Project Title: “Spatio-temporal dynamics of a common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) population subject to extraction”
Project Location: Mexico
Recipient: Annabel Dorrestein
Project Title: “Batmobile: drone explores secret hideouts of flying-foxes”
Project Location: Australia
Special Recognition: Verne & Marion Read Bat Conservation Award
Recipient: Temidayo Adeyanju
Project Title: “Assessing the impacts of land use on bat species and activities in Omo Biosphere Reserve, Southwest”
Project Location: Nigeria
Special Recognition: Women in Science Award
Recipient: Nur Izzati Abdullah
Project Title: “Ecosystem Services Provided by Bats in Ricefield Area”
Project Location: Malaysia
Recipient: Adriana Acero Murcia
Project Title: “Land-use change effects on bat communities in a karstic region of Brazilian cerrado”
Project Location: Brazil
Recipient: Ajib Diptyanusa
Project Title: “The role of bats in Japanese encephalitis dynamics in Indonesia: virus isolation and habitat conservation”
Project Location: Indonesia
Recipient: Sospeter Kibiwot
Project Title: “Effects of forest degradation on bats at South and North Nandi Forests, western Kenya”
Project Location: Kenya
Recipient: Jose Martinez-Fonseca
Project Title: “Filling in a landscape: Quantifying diet and collecting occurrence data of bats in Nicaragua”
Project Location: Nicaragua
Recipient: Baheerathan Murugavel
Project Title: “Bat nights with bulbs bright: Impact of anthropogenic-lighting on the Indian flying fox Pteropus giganteus”
Project Location: India
Recipient: Laura Nicholson
Project Title: “Impacts of hydrological restoration on the foraging habits of bats of South Florida”
Project Location: United States
Recipient: Howard Onyuth
Project Title: “Human-bat conflict management using ethno-bat repellent in 3 villages in Queen Elizabeth Protected Area, Uganda”
Project Location: Uganda
Recipient: Hannah Shapiro
Project Title: “Stakeholder Attitudes, Knowledge, and Experiences with Bats in Cambodia”
Project Location: Cambodia
Recipient: Carme Tuneu-Corral
Project Title: “Bats and rice: human-bat conflict mitigation through bat boxes in Madagascar”
Project Location: Madagascar
Recipient: Bruna Xavier
Project Title: “Commercial plantations in Amazonian savannahs: effects on bat taxonomic and functional diversity, and seed dispersal”
Project Location: Brazil
About Bat Conservation International
The mission of Bat Conservation International is to conserve the world’s bats and their ecosystems to ensure a healthy planet. For more information visit batcon.org.
Media Contact: Javier Folgar
Bat Conservation International
Tel: 512.327.9721 ext. 410
Email: jfolgar@batcon.org
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