Join us on Tuesday, February 17th at 6:00pm for "Bat Parasites and the Ethics of Cave Gating - Two Talks, One Evening," presented by University of Wyoming students Renee Lile and Julia Yearout.
“Bats as Habitat - Exploring Parasites of Bats”
Come learn about the often-unseen world of the insect parasites. In this talk, PhD Candidate, Renee Lile, will describe parasitism as a broad ecological concept and will then share preliminary data on ectoparasite diversity of bats in the Black Hills, South Dakota. Come learn about some local creepy-crawlies that make bats their home.
Renee Lile is a PhD Candidate researching the population, diet and parasites of bats in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota. Surveying bats at Wind Cave National Park, Mt. Rushmore National Monument, and Jewel Cave National Monument, her research will be used to help the National Park Service make informed management decisions that will aid in the conservation of regional bats.
“To Gate or Not to Gate: Rethinking a Classic Conservation Strategy for Bats”
Gating caves has long been used in conservation to protect both the cave environments and bat populations from human disturbance. However, recent research is showing a different perspective on these impacts that gates can have on not only the bats, but other wildlife as well. Is gating still an effective method for conservation? In this talk, we will discuss just that - along with background on caving, cave conservation, bat uses of caves, and what impacts are cave environments - and the bats - facing today.
Julia Yearout is a current master’s student at the University of Wyoming studying the behavioral ecology of the Townsend's Big-eared Bat in Wyoming. She is aiming to mainly understand the habitats these bats utilize for roosting, what their year-round home range looks like, and what anthropogenic impacts are the species facing in Wyoming that could threaten populations in the future. The goal of her research is to provide information to management agencies within the state to enable them to make data-driven management decisions for the conservation of Townsend's moving forward.
The presentation is free, family-friendly, and open to the public. It will take place in the museum’s Africa-Arctic Room. For more information, call 307-235-2108. The Werner Wildlife Museum, located off the Casper College campus at 405 E. 15th Street, is free and open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
