For my Phd fieldwork in Panama, I use a wide variety of tools to measure, to transponder and to sample the bats I catch, often with help from fieldwork assistants or some colleagues. I use generally 7 tools, described here and shown on the photo below. 1. The first tool is a scale, used to measure the weight of the bat (placed in a soft clothed bag). This feature gives a good idea about the age of the bat or if it has eaten. For examplen, my species weighs around 10g and can come back from foraging weighing 3-4g more. 2. The second tool is a calliper, used to measure the forearm length. This feature is often used as an help for species determination. 3. The third and fourth tools are a transponder needle mounted on a transponder injector. The needle contains the transponder that will be quickly injected under the bat skin of the bat. This is a sensitive operation but I trained and I process quickly. The transponder - with an individual identification number - will be injected once and will last for the whole life of the bat. Once the transponder is inserted, I check the number with a hand transponder-reader. 4. To sample DNA, I use a biopsy wingpunch. This tool consists of a 3mm-diameter metal ring mounted on a plastic pole. The DNA is sampled on the wing membrane, the "wingpunch" is then stored in a small tube of ethanol. The sampling on the wing membrane is optimal because this body part contains a lot of DNA and the healing really quick (around 2 weeks). Another story starts after for exportation of the samples, extraction of the DNA and of course the analyses... Thanks to Hyuen-Ji Lee for the picture :).
PS: All catching and sampling procedures are realised with permissions from the Panamean authorities.
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Last week was pretty intense with three different meetings!
The first meeting was my PhD commitee with my PhD advisors. One year after the beginning of my PhD, this meeting is intended to talk about the progress, identify the weaknesses and discuss about the program for the following year. Principal advice (useful for me but every student in general) - don't neglect the reading of papers and books... With all the other tasks (fieldwork, logistics...), it can be easily set aside. The second meeting was a brain huddle - a sort of brainstorming. With colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, we discussed about the data from the automated balance systems I have installed in Panama. The discussions helped me to get interesting tips about the way to look at my data and extract the essential information. In the next weeks, I will try and move forward with these automated analyses To finish, the third meeting was about the tracking session that will occur in Spring 2013. This fieldwork session will combine tracking of Molossus molossus and Uroderma bilobatum to understand the social foraging of these two species. The meeting was intended to talk about the methods and logistics. A blogpost (at least) about that next Spring :). |
AuthorLittle blog about my bat research and conservation action |