UW professor presents research on bats at next Werner Wildlife Series

The September edition of the Werner Wildlife Series presents “Echoes in the Night: Exploring the Mysteries of Bats in Wyoming” on Thursday, Sept. 19, beginning at 6 p.m.

Riley F. Bernard, Ph.D., an applied wildlife ecologist and assistant professor in the Department of Zoology and Physiology at the University of Wyoming, will talk about the bats of Wyoming. Bernard’s talk will focus on bat research conducted by University of Wyoming graduate and undergraduate students.

Recent research projects have included “Habitat Selection and Use by Three Species of Greatest Conservation Need,” “An Ecological Telling of the Bats in Guernsey, Wyoming: Historical Perspectives and Future Outcomes,” “Bat Ectoparasites of Wyoming and Western South Dakota,” and “Investigating the Ecology and Behavior of Townsend’s Big-eared Bats (Corynorhinus townsendii) in Response to Environmental Change.” She and her students are also involved in surveys of hibernating bats in caves during the winter.

In addition, Bernard will discuss what the local community can do to help bats. “Bats are just so cool,” Bernard told Laramie Boomerang reporter Amber Travsky in her story “Bats Are on the Brink in Wyoming.” “They’re the only mammal that can truly fly and are just very interesting.”

According to her website, Benard’s research … “focuses on the ecology and behavior of cryptic species, such as small mammals and amphibians, on topics such as foraging, competition, invasive species interactions, the effects of disease on community structure, species susceptibility, and survival.”

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.

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