Bat Island
eBook - ePub

Bat Island

A Rare Journey into the Hidden World of Tropical Bats

  1. 240 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

About this book

Featuring incredible photography and insight from an international team with long-term ties to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Bat Island spotlights the unique beauty and environmental importance of the seventy-six species of bats on Panama’s Barro Colorado Island.

For decades, scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute have studied the remarkable biodiversity of bats on Barro Colorado Island in Panama, where an astonishing seventy-six species coexist. Now, for the first time, Smithsonian scientists’ expertise pairs with the stunning photography of National Geographic contributor Christian Ziegler for a captivating visual journey into the fascinating world of these elusive night creatures.

Bats are unique among mammals: they have acquired true flight, provide essential ecosystem services, and represent the ecologically most diverse group of mammals worldwide. Synthesizing decades-worth of intensive study, Drs. Rachel Page, Dina Dechmann, Teague O’Mara, and Marco Tschapka provide authoritative insight alongside 150 photographs that showcase bats’ extraordinary environmental adaptations and rich natural history.

OVER 150 STUNNING PHOTOGRAPHS: National Geographic photographer and contributor Christian Ziegler has captured over a decade’s worth of images of the myriad of bat species living on Barro Colorado Island that capture these elusive animals in a variety of settings, from night shots of flight through the tropical rainforest to closeups of their remarkable wings and feeding patterns.

WRITTEN BY SMITHSONIAN SCIENTISTS: All chapters of Bat Island are written by scientists long affiliated with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, one of the world’s leading tropical research organizations that spans a century. Topics include bats’ diverse sensory abilities, foraging strategies, roosting ecologies, and social systems.

DECADES OF CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH: Bat Island, published in partnership with the Smithsonian, presents fascinating insights from scientists working at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, which boasts decades of study of the hyperdiverse bat population on Barro Colorado Island in addition to the most comprehensive and long-term datasets on tropical bats.

CALL FOR CONSERVATION: Drs. Page, Dechmann, O’Mara, and Tschapka highlight how bats are threatened by habit fragmentation and land degradation, and communicate the initiatives needed to ensure the survival of these animals, which are critical to maintaining healthy, balanced ecosystems.

RARE BEAUTY: Award-winning photojournalist Christian Ziegler’s photography illuminates the unique beauty and allure of bats and the tropical rainforest in Panama.

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Yes, you can access Bat Island by Rachel A. Page,Dina K. N. Dechmann,M. Teague O'Mara,Marco Tschapka,The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Art & Photography. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Topic
Art
Subtopic
Photography

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Introduction
  5. Chapter One: Island Under the Moon: The History of Bat Research on Barro Colorado Island
  6. Chapter Two: Flying Hands: The Anatomy and Evolution of Mammal Flight
  7. Chapter Three: A Bat’s Sensory World: Navigating the Night Skies
  8. Chapter Four: Curiosity Serves the Bat: Flexibility, Learning, and Mode Switching
  9. Chapter Five: Tell Me Where You Fly and I’ll Tell You Who You Are: The Guild Concept
  10. Chapter Six: Dinner Is Served: Gourmets and Gourmands
  11. Chapter Seven: Of Hunters and Fishers: Foraging Strategies of Animal-Eating Bats
  12. Chapter Eight: Nocturnal Pollinators: Bat Flowers and Flower Bats
  13. Chapter Nine: Seed-Dispersing Fruit Lovers: From Cooperation to Cheating
  14. Chapter Ten: Bat Roosts: From Opportunism to Construction
  15. Chapter Eleven: Living Together, Living Apart: Sociality and Reproduction
  16. Chapter Twelve: Shedding Light on the Dark: New Technologies to Study Bat Behavior
  17. Chapter Thirteen: Bats Forever? Conserving Their Hidden World
  18. Bat Conservation Resources
  19. Acknowledgments
  20. Proceeds from the Book
  21. About the Photographer, Authors, and Stri
  22. Index
  23. The Bats of Barro Colorado Island
  24. Copyright