We examined the foraging movements, floral resource use, and social interactions of the Critically Endangered Christmas Island flying-fox: implications for seed and pollen dispersal within a threatened island ecosystem 👏Christopher Todd Western Sydney U - HIE …ementecologyjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11…

Greater mouse-eared bats mimic the buzzing sound of stinging insects like wasps, likely to scare off predators. fcld.ly/nizw6f9

Excited to see my last PhD chapter published! To understand viral maintenance in small, geographically isolated 🦇, we surveyed the insular #ChristmasIslandflyingfox for #paramyxoviruses, #coronaviruses, and #ABLV. Read more here -> tinyurl.com/32u2dubs

When the #lyrebird and #whalewatching seasons collide 🐳 #fieldworkfun #RoyalNP Samantha Yabsley

A good morning indeed catching flying foxes for the BATsLAB team. Dr John Martin Samantha Yabsley Tomás Villada Cadavid Eliane McCarthy #WildOz

The second paper from my masters is out! We compared ground counts of the number of flying-foxes in colonies across urban Sydney to counts derived from aerial thermal imagery with some surprising results. doi.org/10.1071/WR21120

The last chapter of my MRes thesis is published! We show the importance of 🏡 areas and reserves for urban-roosting 🦇, and suggest that the variety of native and exotic food likely contributes to their now year-round presence in Adelaide. doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2…

We BATsLAB & Animal Ecology Lab 💚 researching these vital pollinators - the grey-headed flying-fox - listed as Vulnerable to extinction Our recent paper led by Samantha Yabsley describes new insights into their foraging behaviour frontiersin.org/articles/10.33… Eliane McCarthy releasing

Flying-foxes have really cool feet. Their feet are somewhat similar to our hands, but with curved nails & no opposable thumb. Hanging up side down and climbing (while foraging & roosting) means that flying-foxes are “on their feet” except when they fly BATsLAB Western Sydney U - HIE

This iconic Australian spider-eating #bat was once safe from fire – until the Black Summer burnt its rainforests theconversation.com/this-spider-ea… via The Conversation - Australia + New Zealand #wildoz Christopher Turbill Western Sydney U - HIE @nswdpi Australasian Bat Society

Thanks for having me on the show this morning! It was great to share more about these fabulous animals and the threats to their cultures

Bats and dolphins evolved echolocation in the same way (down to the molecular level). An analysis revealed that 200 genes had independently changed in the same way and this is an extreme example of convergent evolution [read more: ow.ly/xkfk30nysHa]

Grey-headed flying-foxes wing fanning to cool down in the heat 🦇☀️ #fieldwork #phdlife

Great digital abstract of our study, thanks to Remote Sensing in Ecology & Conservation youtu.be/zEG7Bm5OLOk Drone-based thermal remote sensing provides an effective new tool for monitoring the abundance of roosting fruit bats …lpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/rs…

Some of the most incredible news this century!🦎⭐️ The rediscovery of the Victorian Grassland Earless Dragon after it was presumed extinct for 54 years! 😱 Beautiful photo by the legendary and dedicated threatened species scientist Nick Clemann 📷 (1/2)

#ABCscience is having a #lyrebird song and dance extravaganza for #scienceweek! abc.net.au/news/2023-08-1… For more on the science of lyrebird song and dance see lyrebirdlab.org/publications including (thread):

The Golden-tipped bat is the 2023 Australian Mammal of the Year! This now means that a #bat has won 2 years in a row!! This is HUGE for bringing awareness to Australia’s Chiropteran critters! cosmosmagazine.com/nature/amoty/t…

🐸New paper alert🐸 Ever wondered how we know what species a fossil frog belongs too. Well we use the ilium in Australia. I use three dimensional geometric morphometrics and taxonomic descriptions to determine whether the ilium is informative. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/TPFA38KQ…

Roosting in canopy tree branches, flying-foxes are exposed to all kinds of weather and weather events. Spare a thought for our bats and other exposed wildlife in today's heat 🦇🌡️

I recently had the pleasure of creating an artist reconstruction of Australia's earliest known tree frog - described in new research by Roy M. Farman 🐸🦎 and team! 🐸 tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10… Platyplectrum casca (left) and newly described Litoria tylerantiqua (right).