Why Study Mammals?

Each mammal species attains a state of harmony with its environment through gradual adaptations, modifications, and evolution, and must adapt to continual changes. Humans have become capable of making profound and rapid alterations in the environment; most species’ future survival is becoming more and more dependent upon our actions.

BRI focuses its research efforts on meeting the conservation needs of selected species and using them as bioindicators to evaluate the health of individuals, populations, and ecosystems. Below, we have grouped our primary areas of research emphasis into nonexclusive areas: (1) contaminants monitoring; (2) movement studies; and (3) surveys and population monitoring.

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Program Director:

Contributing Staff:

Highlighted Species We Study

Mink

Hoary Bat

Indiana Bat

Big Brown Bat

Mammal Research at BRI

Contaminants Monitoring

In the U.S., more than half of the bat species forage adjacent to waterways. Bats are long-lived and have the potential to accumulate high levels of toxins over time.

Movement and Tracking Studies

Marking bats with unique wing bands is one of the most long-standing methods of studying bats. Traditional bands help us identify the banding origin of bats.

Inventory and Population Studies

Conducting surveys or monitoring populations shows trends in species. Depending on the objective of the study, we use a variety of methods to survey and inventory a species.

Publications