(Tom Rodhouse | Photo Courtesy of OSU-Cascades)
At Oregon State University-Cascades’ upcoming Science Pub, bat ecologist Tom Rodhouse will explore the little-known, yet extensive world of bats, including the role they play in natural ecosystems, why some populations are threatened and how citizen scientists can help them.
The Science Pub, Out of the Night, Into the Light: The Secret World of Bats, will take place on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 in Father Luke’s Room at McMenamins Old St. Francis in Bend.
Rodhouse is a National Park Service ecologist, a courtesy faculty member at OSU-Cascades with OSU’s Animal and Rangeland Sciences department, and co-director of the Human and Ecosystem Resiliency and Sustainability Lab (HERS) at the OSU Bend campus.
As a lead architect of the North American Bat Monitoring Program, Rodhouse has devoted more than two decades to bat conservation. He leads the Northwestern Bat Hub, a research and monitoring initiative within the HERS Lab. The Bat Hub has been recognized as a model for successful regional implementation of the North American Bat Monitoring Program, with collaborating state, federal and tribal partners in California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
Rodhouse will discuss services bats provide to ecosystems, from pollination to pest control. He will also explain why bats have historically been difficult to study and how the Bat Hub team is monitoring bat populations, including those in Central Oregon. He will also address white-nose syndrome, a fungal condition that has devastated some bat populations, and the impact of wind power turbines on bats in flight.
Science Pubs take place from 5:30-7:30pm. Networking and food and beverage service begin at 5:30pm, and the presentation starts at 6:30pm. Science Pubs are free to community members, but reservations are required. Space is limited to 100 guests.
Registration must occur by 5pm the day prior to each Science Pub at osucascades.edu/sciencepubs.
