Congratulations to Emma Gómez, who won the Best Poster of the Conference award at the 7th Student Colloquium, Ecology Institute (INECOL), Theme: Ecological Niche Modeling: Concepts, Applications and Perspectives, held October 4th and 5th, 2012 in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. The title of her poster was “Potential distribution of the migratory corridor of an endangered pollinating bat”, abstract below. To view the entire poster in Spanish, click here.
Abstract: The Mexican long-nosed bat Leptonycteris nivalis (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) is a nectar-feeding species distributed from central Mexico to southern United States. Currently, it is listed as endangered by the United States, Mexico and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, due to declines in populations of over 50% in the past 10 years. Evidence suggests that pregnant females of L. nivalis migrate north every spring following the blooms of century plants (Agave sp). The objective of this work was to model the potential distribution of this “nectar corridor” using informatics algorithms. Results show that areas with higher agave species richness form a corridor that overlaps with the location of the known maternity roosting sites in the bat’s northern range. This information is fundamental to guide and prioritize conservation actions to key areas that will ensure the continuity of this corridor and the pollination service that the Mexican long-nosed bats provide.
