Want to learn about wildlife, and the researchers who devote their lives to protecting them? Like adventure but don’t necessarily want to leave your house, or pajamas, to go on one? Well… The Staten Island Zoo’s Conservation Near & Far is just for you! Join us for a virtual meeting with conservation and wildlife researchers on the field! Grab your notebook, a cup of coffee, and have your questions in hand. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet the individuals spearheading the field of conservation, right now!

Cryptic Creatures

Pearl Cales & Danielle Fibikar

Creatures of the night are some of the most misunderstood organisms. Humans often regard them as dangerous, frightening, dirty pests, or vermin. So often though, it's a misguided opinion. Many are harmless to humans, playing an important role in our ecosystem. 

Wildlife researchers, Pearl Cales and Daneille Fibikar, have taken a liking to these cryptic creatures; frogs and bats, to be exact. As the sun sets on St. John, United States Virgin Island, their nightly adventures begin. 

Pearl surveys toad and frog populations island-wide, gathering long term information of all species. Bioacoustics software has also been implemented in the identification process. To date, seven species, four native and three invasive, have been accounted for on the island. Data collected is used to determine species abundance and preference of habitat within the island. 

Danielle started sampling the bat community of St. John, USVI in January 2014. With the use of mist-nets, bats are captured to examine them closely. To date, all five known species found on the island have been accounted for. Data obtained continues to provide information on community structure and seasonal variation between species.

"The importance of field research not only helps us understand current problems, but also monitors and evaluates policies which can be put into place for conservation reasons. Both long term projects continue to overcome lack of data and open new frontiers of knowledge".   

Join us as we venture to the island of St. John, USVI, to catch up with Pearl and Danielle to get up close and virtual with these fantastic creatures of the night

Q&A to follow. 

Zoom registration link will be included on your receipt.  Access link will eb sent immediately following your Zoom registration.