Outreach and Media
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🦇🦇Bats!🦇🦇 Q&A with Mammalogists #LearnWithMe
Did you know that about one in five mammals is a bat? Museum mammalogists and bat experts joined us for a look at these incredible animals. We'll see what it's like to study bats both in the field and inside the Museum. |
I am a member of the advisory board of the Programa de Conservación de Murciélagos de Puerto Rico (check out PCMPR to learn more). PCMPR is an umbrella program providing research opportunities and training in bat biology, student research mentoring, citizen science training and organization of monitoring activities, scientific communication focused on bat conservation, and oversight of Mata de Plátano Research Station located in Puerto Rico. Our primary goals are to generate awareness of the important role bats play in Caribbean insular ecosystems and in community structuring, educate and dispel myths surrounding bats to promote and contribute to their conservation.
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My profile in Rutgers Today was the second "most clicked-on" story of 2018!
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Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean and home to an astonishingly diverse and unique set of animals and plants. In this SciCafe, join Museum scientists Ana Porzecanski and Angelo Soto-Centeno for a lively discussion about their recent expedition to Cuba and the new avenues for scientific collaboration on the island.
Also check out this AMNH Research Blog: Two "hidden" bat species revealed in Haiti. Learn more about the diversity of bats in one of the most ecologically imperiled countries in the world. |
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We had an amazing collaboration with Erin Chapman to produce a new episode of Shelf Life (Into the Island of Bats) at AMNH. Also featured in the Shelf Life Blog post: Research, Repeat. Learn more about what we do with bats in the Caribbean (featuring Gilberto Silva Taboada).
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Certainly not the traditional perspective of Cuba. Check out our AMNH SciCafé youtube video and SoundCloud podcast to learn about the recent expedition to Cuba.

It was an honor to collaborate with Luis Villanueva in the Biología Boricua Podcast (in Spanish) to feature our research on Caribbean bats.

Our work for the Explore21 joint expedition by the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Cuba and AMNH was covered by Granma (Cuban Press in Spanish) and Mongbay: Field Notes.

Links to the media coverage in our PNAS publication: Vertebrate community on an ice-age Caribbean island.
LA Times, The Washington Post, Gainesville Sun, phys.org, University of Florida News, New York Times, National Science Foundation, Arizona State University SGSUP News, CBS News, Pioneer News, International Business Times, New Historian, Audubon
LA Times, The Washington Post, Gainesville Sun, phys.org, University of Florida News, New York Times, National Science Foundation, Arizona State University SGSUP News, CBS News, Pioneer News, International Business Times, New Historian, Audubon

Here are some links to the media coverage of our Scientific Reports publication: Fossils reject climate change as the cause of extinction of Caribbean bats. Some of them are in Spanish.
University of Florida, diCyt, SiNC, Futurity Blog, AMNH Blog, Popular Science, La Razón, MUY Interesante, Panamá ON
University of Florida, diCyt, SiNC, Futurity Blog, AMNH Blog, Popular Science, La Razón, MUY Interesante, Panamá ON

I worked closely with friend and writer Gloribel Delgado-Esquillín and Mi Puerto Rico Verde (miprv.com) to produce a three-part account of one of my field collecting trips to Puerto Rico. The goal of the story is to teach the general public about the importance of bats for the ecosystem and the local biodiversity of Puerto Rico. This story also highlighted technical details of genetic and climate change research distilled in a very accessible way and written in Spanish. The story can be found in miprv.com archives via the following links:
Part 1. En el Bosque de Guajataca en busca del murciélago viejo
Part 2. En busca del murciélago viejo en Cueva Ventana
Part 3. En busca del murciélago viejo en Cueva Ventana2
Part 1. En el Bosque de Guajataca en busca del murciélago viejo
Part 2. En busca del murciélago viejo en Cueva Ventana
Part 3. En busca del murciélago viejo en Cueva Ventana2
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I was part of the Explore Research video series produced by University of Florida. This series highlights research done at UF and FLMNH and is directed to disseminate potentially complex and technical research to the general public in a way that is easy to understand. This video focuses on collecting bats in the Caribbean and it is featured at FLMNH along with an exhibit. The video also runs in local Gainesville, FL tv station. Check out FLMNH YouTube website for more research videos.
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Bat brochures and postersAs part of the deliverables of my research, I create simple bat brochures and posters featuring portraits and general information for the bat species I capture in each island I visit. These informational documents are designed to provide a general overview of the diversity and importance of bats for locals. I create these brochures with the support of Bat Conservation International, FLMNH, and local conservation and natural resource agencies on the islands. Brochures and posters are produced in a PDF format (all you need is a PDF viewer).
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Brochure of the Common Bats of the Bahamas can be downloaded here:
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