bat conservation

Publication update 26: The critical importance of fruit bats!

We’re super excited to make yet another publication announcement so soon after our first one from Project Pteropus Phase 2!

A massive labour of love first started by Sheema in 2013, this second paper from us is another literature review – this time looking at bat-plant interactions that have been documented for the Old World over the 1985-2020 period (36 years’ worth of research!). Published as part of the special issue ‘Animal Seed Dispersal: An Ecosystem Service In Crisis’, it’s fully open access, which means it can be read online, or the PDF file can be downloaded for free.

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April 7, 2021September 7, 2021 by Rimba Categories: Home, Project Updates, PublicationsTags: bat conservation, bat-plant interactions, fruit bat, Mary-Ruth Low, Project Pteropus, Pteropodidae, Sheema Abdul Aziz, Yong Joon Yee

Publication update 25: Bane or Blessing? Reviewing Cultural Values of Bats across the Asia-Pacific Region

Our inaugural publication from Phase 2 of Project Pteropus has been published by the Society of Ethnobiology! Led by Mary-Ruth as first author and Sheema as senior author, this literature review was a regional collaboration involving 13 co-authors from 9 countries across the Asia-Pacific, including Malaysia (Peninsular and Sarawak), China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Samoa. It’s fully open-access, which means you can both read it online or download the PDF, completely for free: https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-ethnobiology/volume-41/issue-1/0278-0771-41.1.18/Bane-or-Blessing-Reviewing-Cultural-Values-of-Bats-across-the/10.2993/0278-0771-41.1.18.full

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April 5, 2021September 7, 2021 by Rimba Categories: Home, Project Updates, PublicationsTags: Asia-Pacific, bat conservation, bats, BFM 89.9, cultural symbolism, Cyren Wong Zhi Hoong, flying fox, Mary-Ruth Low, Project Pteropus, Sheema Abdul Aziz

Bat Week 2020: The Secret Life of Durian Trees

As part of our Project Pteropus outreach efforts, we teamed up with insanely talented Malaysian artist Novia Shin, and Penang-based production house Hatchtag Media, to create a short animated video on bat pollination of durian: ‘The Secret Life of Durian Trees’, based on the results of Dr. Sheema‘s PhD research on Tioman Island.

This video was first released during last year’s Bat Week, but was a nominee for the Best Animation Award at the recent 13th International Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival (KLEFF 2020). If you haven’t seen this already, watch it to see what happens in a durian orchard at night! And, it’s also available in Malay and Mandarin!

Facebook: @novia.shin @HatchTag @KLEFFMY
Instagram: @novia_shin @kleffmy
Twitter: @KLEFFMY

Friends in Malaysia: this is your last chance to snag some bat swag by following us on social media, sharing any of our #BatWeek2020 posts with the correct 3 hashtags, and tagging at least 3 friends! We’ll start picking winners after today! Hope you all had a Happy Bat Week and will continue to help us celebrate bats long after this! 🦇🦇🦇

October 31, 2020October 31, 2020 by Rimba Categories: Home, Project UpdatesTags: ASEAN, bat conservation, Bat Week 2020, Cave Nectar Bat, durian, Eonycteris spelaea, flying fox, fruit bat, Island Flying Fox, Malaysia, nectar bat, pollination, pollination ecology, pollinators, Project Pteropus, Pteropodidae, Pteropus hypomelanus, Southeast Asia, tropical ecology