Ms Kristen Lear

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Fulbright Postgraduate Scholar

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“The population size of the Southern Bent-wing Bat has declined dramatically in the last 50 years. Numerous threats have been proposed as potential factors in this decline. It is not known whether the breeding caves in Naracoorte have a role in the decline.”

Ms Kristen Lear, a recent graduate from Ohio Wesleyan University, has won a Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship to come to Naracoorte Caves National Park for a year to study population trends and breeding success of the Southern Bent-wing Bat. Kristen will work with the University of Melbourne, South Australian Museum, the South Australian Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment on her project.

Through her Fulbright, Kristen aims to help fill in some of the knowledge gaps in the population trends of the Southern Bent-wing Bat through the development of an automated counting system to monitor the population.

“The Southern Bent-wing Bat is listed as Critically Endangered due to severe population declines and its dependence on only two breeding sites,” Kristen said.

“We need to know what is causing the decline, in order to recommend the most effective management actions.”

The new monitoring technique will use an innovative missile tracking system to provide invaluable information about the population trends and breeding success of the bat.

With Lindy Lumsden of the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment, Cath Dickson of the SA Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Terry Reardon of the South Australian Museum and Steve Bourne of the Friends of Naracoorte Caves, Kristen will examine two key factors using the new technology. The first aims to accurately estimate the population size and population trends at the breeding site. The second is developing techniques to accurately estimate breeding success and survival rates.

While she is in Australia Kristen will also work with the community to help bring awareness and understanding of this bat species to members of the public, so that they develop a vested interest in its conservation.

Kristen has a BA in Pre-Professional Zoology from Ohio Wesleyan University. She has won awards and prizes including the Soroptimist International Virginia M. Wagner Educational Grant and the Ohio Wesleyan John N. Chase Scholarship for academic promise in the field of zoology. In her spare time she takes part in Campus Girl Scouts and volunteers to educate the community about bats.