Scientists team up to track, protect Jamaica’s bats

AN international collaboration of scientists and Jamaican researchers is strengthening efforts to understand and protect the island’s diverse bat population, combining advanced monitoring technology, cave surveys and hands-on training to support long-term conservation.

The latest field season, held from October 3 to 13, brought together researchers from The University of the West Indies (The UWI), the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, Pennsylvania State University in the United States, and the University of Toronto in Canada, alongside local cave experts and The UWI post-graduate students.

The 11-night exercise combined research across several cave sites with practical training in bat capture, handling, body measurements, blood and tissue sampling, and acoustic monitoring. A major breakthrough was the introduction of electronic tagging technology that will allow individual bats to be identified and monitored over time.