A Bat Adventure: From Chester to Brighton for Science, Conservation, and Fun

January 2025 was all about bats! What better way to kick off the year than with an epic journey from Chester to Brighton to delve deep into the fascinating world of bat research and conservation? This two-day adventure took us from an intensive workshop on bat call analysis to the buzzing excitement of the 7th British Bat Research Symposium, and it did not disappoint!

Day 1: Cracking the Code of Bat Calls

On Thursday, January 23rd, we hit the road (and rails!) for the picturesque seaside town of Brighton. Our destination? The University of Sussex, where we attended an exclusive SonoBat workshop led by the brilliant Martyn Cooke, the UK representative for SonoBat Bat Call Analysis Software. Martyn opened our eyes (and ears!) to the hidden language of bats. We learned how this software can help researchers identify bat species with remarkable precision, all while getting hands-on experience with the tools of the trade.

Day 2: A Celebration of All Things Bats

Friday, January 24th, marked the 7th British Bat Research Symposium, an event that brought together bat researchers and conservationists. We had the privilege of hearing from two renowned guest speakers:

• Professor Fiona Mathews, a leading expert in Environmental Biology and Mammalian Biology at the University of Sussex. She gave an inspiring talk on how, as scientists, we can improve the ways we share our bat knowledge with local communities in ways that benefit both bats and people.

• Daniel Hargreaves, the Bat Programme Manager at Vincent Wildlife Trust, whose conservation efforts are making a tangible difference for bat populations across the UK. He shared with us his journey in becoming an enthusiastic expert in bats and showed us spectacular bat photos from all over the world, including videos of a bat fishing!!

  
  

The day’s schedule was packed with presentations from PhD students and researchers representing institutions like Rothamsted Research, the Bat Conservation Trust, the Wildlife and Wetland Trust, and universities spanning from Bath to Lisbon. Topics ranged from cutting-edge technology and bioinformatics, such as tracking and eDNA techniques, to bat physiology and behaviour. It was a deep dive into how bats navigate the challenges of our rapidly changing world and how we, as researchers and conservationists, can support them.

The BATMAN Project Takes the Spotlight

We were especially proud of Lucy Morison, our very PhD student working on the BATMAN project, who delivered a fantastic 10-minute presentation. Lucy provided a behind-the-scenes look at her research, covering everything from fieldwork and sample collection to the rigorous validation of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Lucy’s research will allow us to quantify cortisol from bat faeces without the need to catch and disturb the bats! Her hard work and dedication paid off when she won 1st prize for the best oral presentation!

Adding to the excitement, Dr. Camilla Soravia, a postdoctoral researcher on the BATMAN project, presented a detailed scientific poster outlining the key aspects of our research. Camilla expertly fielded questions from curious attendees, further cementing the BATMAN project as a vital contribution to bat science.

Bats, Beers, and Brainteasers

The day ended on a high note with a lively social event at a local Brighton pub. The evening featured a bat-themed quiz that tested everyone’s knowledge of these fascinating creatures, sparking plenty of laughter and friendly competition. It was the perfect opportunity to relax, mingle, and share ideas with fellow bat enthusiasts. And there was even a question about our own research!!

Final Thoughts

From the thrilling SonoBat workshop to the inspiring talks at the symposium, this trip was a true celebration of bat science and conservation. The energy, passion, and innovation we witnessed were contagious, and the connections we made will undoubtedly shape future collaborations. Thank you again to the organising team at the University of Sussex for making this event memorable!

Here’s to Lucy, Camilla, and everyone working tirelessly to understand and protect bats. And here’s to a future filled with even more discoveries, adventures, and bat-tastic events! 🦇✨

Until next time, happy bat-watching!

PS. We did not forget to have some fun after the conference 😉

A Bat-tastic Day at Duddon St Peter’s Primary School!

On Wednesday, we - Prof Tessa Smith, PhD student Lucy Morison, and Dr Camilla Soravia - ventured out of our lab to visit Duddon St Peter’s Primary School, hoping to bring our passion for bats to the children at school. We were greeted with a lot of enthusiasm and countless raised hands, which made it an amazing morning for all of us!

Why Bats Are Nature’s Heroes

We gave four talks to children aged 5 to 11, highlighting why bats are vital to ecosystems and the planet and introducing their unique traits.

The children learned that bats:

• 🦟 Control insect populations, acting as natural pest controllers.

• 🌸 Pollinate flowers, supporting biodiversity.

• 🌱 Disperse seeds, helping plants grow in new areas.

• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Are amazing parents, caring for their young.

• 💞 Are social creatures with lots of friends.

  
  

Exploring Echolocation and Conservation

For the older children (aged 7 - 11), the team delved deeper into bats' incredible ability to navigate in darkness using echolocation. The children also discussed threats that bats face, including increased light and noise pollution, and habitat loss, learning simple ways to help protect these remarkable animals.

Hands-On Creativity

To round out the day, the children channelled their enthusiasm into creative activities:

• ✂️ Making their own origami bats.

• 🎨 Following a step-by-step guide to draw a bat.

These activities sparked discussions about the anatomy of bats and gave us all a chance to put our craft skills to the test!

Inspiring Future Scientists

It was a privilege for our team to visit Duddon St Peter’s Primary School and inspire the next generation of scientists and conservationists. Changing perceptions about bats and fostering a sense of curiosity and care for wildlife is crucial to their protection.

A big thank you to Duddon St Peter’s Primary School for welcoming us and to the children for their enthusiasm and curiosity. We are also grateful to our supporters, including the Leverhulme Trust and the School of Natural Sciences, for making this outreach event possible.

What’s Next?

We hope this visit will cultivate a lifelong interest in wildlife conservation among the children. After all, the future of our planet rests in the hands of these young minds.

Want to learn more about bats or how you can get involved in conservation? Follow us for updates on our next outreach events! 🦇

From field to lab: A successful first season studying bats

We have now officially concluded the first field season!! These months have passed in the blink of an eye. We have spent our time driving around the stunning landscapes of North Wales to collect environmental data and faecal samples at each bat roost. We have also installed recorders and cameras under where the bats were resting during the day so that we could monitor their behaviour for the following months.

We did not lack adventure – occasionally we had to climb ladders or silently crawl in dark attics while collecting faecal samples under the dim red light of our torches so that we did not scare the bats. During our brief visits inside the maternity roosts, we had a chance to witness the important stages of the bats’ breeding cycle. First, fluffy and round pregnant females in May, then tiny pups clinging to their mothers in July. Since then, the pups have learnt to fly and have become independent.

Now, the adults are mating again and slowly starting to hibernate. The females will store the sperm throughout the winter and will then become pregnant again in the following spring.

While the bats wait for winter to pass in their hibernation roosts, we will also stay indoors in our lab at the University of Chester, where we will work to process faecal samples and analyse footage and recordings. The season has been a success, so we have a lot of data analysis ahead of us! We have now collected 300 faecal samples and 40 urine samples and almost 300 hours of footage and ultrasound recordings. We have also collected over 20 days and nights of environmental data – light and noise pollution – for each of the ten roosts that we are monitoring.

So, what will we analyse?

We are in the process of detecting and quantifying cortisol, which is considered a ‘stress hormone’ in bats, so that we can then determine if bats in some roosts are more stressed than in others. Since we know that many bat species avoid bright and noisy areas when they look for prey at night, by pairing noise and light levels at the roost entrance with cortisol, we will then be able to determine whether light and noise pollution are indeed causes of stress to the bats. We will also use our footage and recordings to discover what the bats do during the day at the maternity roosts, how they communicate with each other, and when they decide to leave the roost each night to find prey.

We will then be able to see if bats at roosts with more light or noise pollution behave differently, and whether this altered behaviour might indicate stress. We hope that this research will help us to understand what we can do to improve the welfare of our bats.

Now that the first field season is complete, we would like to thank the incredible people that continue to take care of bat roosts at their property and have enthusiastically welcomed us and our research, as well as the fantastic volunteers that gave up some of their time to accompany us on field trips. We also thank the Vincent Wildlife Trust and Natural Resources Wales for their continuous support. We are now ready to dive into the many hours of video recordings and lab work needed to analyse our data until we can see the bats again in the next field season.