I am in the starting-blocks for a new fieldwork season in Panama. I will fly to Panama mid-July and stay until mid-August. My goal for this season is to catch all the colonies already surveyed in the previous fieldwork seasons - especially to collect DNA samples and equip non-marked bat with a subcutaneous transponder. This transponder can be scanned either manually (hand-held transponder reader) or automatically (automated transponder reader at roost entrance). This method is very useful to obtain data on dispersal, group composition and also survival.
A german Master student will help me for the catching and removal of bats from the nets. In parallel, this assistant will conduct some captivity experiments for his master's thesis. His project will focus on heart-rate and temperature to better understand metabolic rates of tropical animals.
This should be the last but one fieldwork season of my PhD, the last one being planned in November-December. I will then have one year and a half to go in the lab for my DNA samples, analyse the collected data and write my PhD thesis.
A german Master student will help me for the catching and removal of bats from the nets. In parallel, this assistant will conduct some captivity experiments for his master's thesis. His project will focus on heart-rate and temperature to better understand metabolic rates of tropical animals.
This should be the last but one fieldwork season of my PhD, the last one being planned in November-December. I will then have one year and a half to go in the lab for my DNA samples, analyse the collected data and write my PhD thesis.