Congratulations to Welch lab PhD student Phillip Oelbaum on being named a 2024 Student Scholar by Bat Conservation International for his project, entitled “Foraging and roosting ecology of Phyllonycteris aphylla in Jamaica.”
More about Phil’s project (from the BCI page):
The Jamaican flower bat, Phyllonycteris aphylla, is listed as critically endangered and until now was only known from Stony Hill Cave. In March-April 2023, we surveyed seven caves throughout Jamaica, most known to have historically had colonies of P. aphylla, and at two of these sites (Green Grotto Caves and Rock Spring Caverns), we found both male and pregnant female individuals of this important species. Both new sites are substantially larger systems than Stony Hill, but with little of Green Grotto’s roosting space explored and no previous bat work being conducted at Rock Spring, relatively little is known about these communities as compared to other caves throughout Jamaica (e.g., Windsor, St. Clair Cave).
Based on observations of the Jamaican Caves Organisation, Rock Spring is believed to be one of the largest bat communities on the island, despite temperatures internally being between 23-24⁰C in all documented roosting chambers. We intend to begin a roost temperature monitoring program to better understand areas of importance within these caves to better protect them and also understand possible fluctuations in population between chambers and possible movement between caves. Furthermore, we intend to seek out new caves that P. aphylla may be present in. Collecting patagium and hair from P. aphylla and heterospecifics for stable isotope analysis will provide critical ecological data to alert us to areas of importance outside the caves and critical habitat for this species.