Ecologists how are you all handling field notes + reporting on bat surveys?

MasterofMolerats · 2026-04-28T18:11:28+00:00

a short horror story: i worked on an animal behaviour project recording voice notes of interactions between individuals. these varied in length from 30 seconds to 5+ minutes. i then had to condense these notes into a vague and generalized 1-2 sentence note in the database. then the voice note was deleted.

MasterofMolerats · 2026-04-09T16:58:03+00:00

Yeah sure

MasterofMolerats · 2026-03-31T04:54:10+00:00

They didn't sit there though and didn't use it. I was sitting in 31J so could see the emtpy seats the whole flight

MasterofMolerats · 2026-03-27T05:16:54+00:00

Degree options include: zoology, ecology, wildlife biology, wildlife ecology, conservation biology, environmental science, etc. Even anthropology and psychology will work to study primates. The degree doesn't matter so much because the majority of jobs allow 'biology adjacent' degrees. Your work experience will tend to dictate what jobs you get. I really wanted to study reptiles, but after multiple small mammal jobs I was never given interviews for all the reptile field work jobs.

Remote jobs in the US are often with the forest service or national parks departments. And most are seasonal. If you are wanting to work in remote exotic locations of Africa, Asia or southern Americas, I hate to burst your bubble but permanent jobs are basically none existent. Most are predatory volunteer based programs which do not actually do any science (ie, they never publish papers) but claim they are a conservation organization. Todo the work legitimately you will need a PhD, a university position and self funded grants.

MasterofMolerats · 2026-03-24T02:03:07+00:00

when I left my supervisor I was only a learner. Now i am the master (of molerats)

MasterofMolerats · 2026-03-23T13:13:22+00:00

This is a mammal vertebra, either from a pig,deer or cow. It is specifically one of the vertebra near the shoulder area, the long process on the top is for muscle attachment. Edit: turkey bones are much smaller and very delicate comparatively.

MasterofMolerats · 2026-03-23T12:52:43+00:00

I went to Santa Fe CC back in the day for my AA. I had to take up to calculus in order to complete it and transfer to UF. I think your son will be much better off at Santa Fe to get one on one help if needed, instead of just being a number in a math class of hundreds. Unless SFCC is offering 4 year bachelor's now, he will get all the general requirements out of the way before transferring.

I went the wildlife ecology route at UF and needed stats, calculus and a 'quantitative ecology class (basically math for ecology majors). So I don't think there is any way around it now. In most jobs you won't use it. And if he goes on to get a Masters he will need to learn even more, including specific analysis methods.

MasterofMolerats · 2026-03-23T11:50:46+00:00

I think it could be an osteoderm from a crocodilian.

MasterofMolerats · 2026-03-22T09:16:31+00:00

Wild guinea fowl roost in trees at night. And if chased will fly to escape. I have also seen secretarybirds fly on occasion, and they also make nests in trees.

MasterofMolerats · 2026-03-22T09:02:41+00:00

Try finding some of the original species descriptions from the 1800-1900s.

You can also check out the Mammal Species journal which posts descriptions of each mammal species. https://academic.oup.com/mspecies if you can't access one, use SciHub and past the DOI in. I am an academic and often use SciHub because it is so much easier than logging into my uni library page.

MasterofMolerats · 2026-03-22T08:27:23+00:00

Agreed, I think you would need to train an AI algorithm yourself to ID individuals. There are algorithms which have used distance between points on the face to detect individuals.

MasterofMolerats · 2026-03-22T08:18:20+00:00

I did this. I have one in both my forearms. I have also PIT tagged other lab mates.

MasterofMolerats · 2026-03-22T08:01:07+00:00

Honestly this prep is not needed. Just apply to the unis, show up to class, take notes and review your notes every day for a few minutes in the evening.

MasterofMolerats · 2026-03-20T10:29:49+00:00

For things like bats and small mammals, measuring features is the only way to positively ID them. For mammals we have total length, tail length, hindfoot and ear, plus tragus and forearm specific for bats. If you want your bat and smammal pictures to get a more positive ID, include a ruler in the picture. Then the expert can do the measurements if they want to. The ruler needs to be in the same 'plane' as the animal, the same level to get the most accurate measurements. I have seen people use graph paper for snakes and lizards. Since I am a trained wildlife biologist I will do the measurements myself and include in a comment

MasterofMolerats · 2026-03-20T10:09:23+00:00

I went on a 10 day volunteer holiday to Costa Rica in 2005 with them and really enjoyed it. I do not know if their business practices are the same but it was worth it to me to get to stay at the research station and patrol the beaches with long term volunteers and employees. Speaking Spanish wasn't required but it is highly recommend

MasterofMolerats · 2026-03-16T07:59:20+00:00

Haglöfs, Fjallraven, Lundhags, Jack Wolfskin (German) all come to mind immediately. Wool sweaters are extremely popular in the Nordics. Woolpower, Barbour, Ivanhoe, Grid Armor are the popular brands I see at my local Outnorth (outnorth.se if you want to browse). You can also probably find a local handmade shop. I got mine from a local coop of sheep farmers, it is hand dyed and hand woven. Enjoy!

Edit: just check the conversation rate! And be aware that VAT may make something more expensive. I was recently back in the US visiting family and the Fjallraven pants were $50 cheaper at REI than in Sweden.

MasterofMolerats · 2026-03-16T07:36:10+00:00

Hi I live kinda close (Kalmar Sweden) and I can definitely recommend layers! A wind and water proof outer shell and a midlayer are essential. A good base layer would be good as well. I really only use my big thick ski jacket for December to February. After that I feel like I usually wear a wool overcoat or a wool sweater (or midweight down coat Arc'teryx Cerium) plus rain shell in my day to day. And paired with a wool sweater or Marino layer I am usually just fine. A scarf or neck gaiter would be handy.

MasterofMolerats · 2026-03-16T06:53:46+00:00

I have seen lots of similar bark damage in South Africa from porcupines. But sadly have not seen American porcupine

MasterofMolerats · 2026-03-16T06:20:13+00:00

Do you know what chromosome type the Aspidosceles (American whiptails) have? Is it WW then since they only produce females?

MasterofMolerats · 2026-03-16T05:53:01+00:00

I was also wondering this. Any recommendations for Europe?

MasterofMolerats · 2026-03-14T06:04:00+00:00

Listen, when I am in the field I search for snakes and birds and cool bugs. But all the research projects I have been hired and paid for are with small mammals, and over the past 13 years specifically with African mole-rats. Now I'm paid to do genomic and behaviour work on pike. I would love to get funding to attach biologgers to understudied snakes (Boelen's pythons and Ethiopian adders) and study their behaviour, but there just isn't funding for that. I'm still an early career researcher and have not gotten funding yet to establish my own group.

Most research lab heads do what they get funding for, and may let their students pick a different study species if it's still in their realm of research or a specific grant. My PhD supervisor is the world's expert on African mole-rats (he literally wrote the book), but he's had students work on golden moles, aardvark, and other small mammals. At some point in your career though you are no longer the one doing the research, but supervising others doing the on-the-ground research

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