At the next Draper Natural History Museum Lunchtime Expedition, applied wildlife ecologist Dr. Riley Bernard discusses bat research in a talk titled Voyagers of the Night: Investigating the Ecology of Bats in the West.

“Numerous bat species in North America are facing severe population declines due to anthropogenic stressors such as habitat loss, climate change, and the introduction of disease,” said Bernard, who is assistant professor in the Department of Zoology and Physiology at the University of Wyoming.

The free, in-person talk takes place Thursday, Aug. 1, at noon in the Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s Coe Auditorium. Those who prefer to attend the talk virtually via Zoom may do so by registering at us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EaX18w_PRmeA6NMrPPNhQw.

Riley indicates that most bat research, while incredibly informative for conservation, has been conducted in the eastern part of the continent where bats are more easily accessible in caves and mines. Information about the ecology of bats in the West is lacking even though bats in this half of the country are susceptible to the same threats.

Bernard and her fellow researchers in the Bernard Research Lab at the University of Wyoming are working to fill knowledge gaps related to bat ecology, behavior, and persistence. “Specifically,” said Bernard, “we are working to better understand where at-risk species roost during summer, how they utilize our novel landscape, and how they are affected by various stressors such as the introduction of disease (white-nose syndrome) and climate change.”

In this talk, Bernard provides a primer of what makes bats special and unique to study, and provides a sneak peek into what her lab has been helping uncover in an attempt to save the region’s bats.

The Draper Museum’s Lunchtime Expedition lecture series is made possible through support from Sage Creek Ranch and the Nancy-Carroll Draper Charitable Foundation. Most talks in the series take place the first Thursday of the month.