GREETINGS FROM THE CECB DIRECTOR

Dear Friends and Colleagues,I am pleased to send you a copy of the 6th annual edition of

CECB UPDATE that highlights activities of several Faculty Associatesand students over this past year.

Boston University’s Tropical Ecology Program continues toattract excellent students to spend a semester studying and carrying outresearch in Ecuador. Our recruitment efforts have increased over this pastyear and now include an informational poster, which has been mailed toevery Biology and Environmental Science Department in the country!This program, now in its 7th year continues to receive high praise fromprogram alumni and recent participants alike.

The ongoing research of Faculty Associates and their students,has witnessed an infusion of technologically advanced techniques andfield-work in order to answer important ecological questions. Thefollowing are just a sample of these endeav-ors. The research of Faraouk El-Baz,Research Professor and Director of BostonUniversity’s Center for Remote Sensing,highlights the importance of modern tech-nologies, including digital satellite imagesof the Earth’s surface to advance ourknowledge of its topography and importantwater resources. Faculty Associate PaulBarber is using DNA markers to trackdispersal routes of planktonic invertebratelarva in ocean currents, which will aid in thedevelopment of sound marine managementstrategies. CECB Director Thomas Kunz,and Faculty Associates Margrit Betke, Cut-ler Cleveland, and Stan Sclaroff recentlyreceived support from the National ScienceFoundation to address important questions relating to the ecological andeconomic role of bats in controlling agricultural insect pests, usingsampling techniques that include infrared thermal imaging. Graduatestudents Amy Mertl and Kari Ryder Wilkie have teamed with FacultyAssociate James Traniello to investigate the incredibly rich ant fauna inthe lowland rainforest at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station.

CECB Faculty Associates continue to make important schol-arly contributions in their respective disciplines with four new titlesavailable. We also welcome two new Faculty Associates this year as weventure to expand our research community fostered in the commoninterests of ecology and conservation. Friends of CECB have continuedto support our efforts to fund graduate student research, and we lookforward to your continued support with your gifts and donations in thecoming year.

Sincerely yours,Thomas H. Kunz, Director

USING REMOTE SENSING TO UNEARTHGROUDWATER IN EASTERN ARABIA

The ecology of a given region is largely defined by how muchwater it receives. Water from rainfall has the greatest impact. Thus, areasthat receive little rain become ecologically and environmentally fragile.In these arid lands, mined groundwater and/or transported desalinatedwater become the basis of life. As one Arabian elder said: “If we drill awell and find water, it is better than finding oil; more oil means just moremoney, but water means life for this and future generations.” It is nowthis pursuit for life that has brought Faculty Associate Farouk El-Baz tothe Arabian Peninsula.

Farouk El-Baz is a Research Professor and the Director ofBoston University’s Center for Remote Sensing. He has been a pioneerin the field, since 1967, by selecting landing sites and training astronautsfor NASA’s Apollo missions to the moon.

Six years ago, El-Baz was asked to survey thepotential of groundwater in the Sultanate of Oman. Thesurvey was made possible through the use of digitalimages from space including: (1) surface images inmulti-spectral bands (from Landsat), which displaychemical differences between rock and soil types, andreveal the vegetation cover, and (2) radar images (fromthe Shuttle and Radarsat), which portray differences insurface topography and unveil sand-buried courses offormer rivers and streams.

The research team at Boston University’s Center forRemote Sensing hassuccessfully met thechallenge and lo-cated new areas forgroundwater explo-ration. The resultingmaps have shown re-gions of great sur-face water accumu-lation. A further re-sult was the publica-tion of “Wadis ofOman: Satellite Im-age Atlas,” which

identifies areas with potential for flashflood hazards—ultimately to savelives and property.

Word of El-Baz’s research discoveries quickly spread throughthe region and, two years ago, a request for a similar investigation wasmade by the Ruler of Sharjah, one of the northern United Arab Emirates.In this case, there is a question of how much desalination of water willbe required in the future; location of groundwater would limit that need.

(continued on page 3)

Boston University • Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology • Fall 2003

CECB UPDATE

A) Satellite image of Sharjah, U.A.E.B) Color coded geological classifi-cation of satellite image A.

UNDERSTANDING AMAZONIAN ANT DIVERSITY

To find the most important organisms in a tropical

rainforest, don’t be fooled by looking up towards the bellowing

howler monkeys and screeching macaws. One must look down,

and focus on the tiny ants crawling across your boots. Ants,

making up the family Formicidae, are extremely abundant in

tropical forests where, along with termites, they make up 30% of

the entire animal biomass of Amazonian forests. Ants participate

in many vital ecological

processes, including soil

turnover, seed dispersal, de-

composition and nutrient

cycling. Both the top herbi-

vore and the top carnivore in

tropical forests are ants;

leafcutter ants (Atta) and

army ants (Eciton), respec-

tively. Ants are also incred-

ibly diverse in Amazonian rainforests, especially those near the

equator such as at Tiputini Biodiversity Station (TBS). It is here,

at TBS, where Boston University graduate students Amy Mertl

and Kari Ryder Wilkie, working under the guidance of CECB

Faculty Associate James Traniello, are researching the diversity,

structure, and behavior of the abundant ant communities.

In the spring of 2002, Ryder Wilkie and Mertl, along with

BU undergraduate Amanda Breneman, conducted a preliminary

study of ground-dwelling ant diversity at TBS. Using pitfall traps,

bait traps, and litter sampling, they collected 1,723 ants represent-

ing 148 species from an area

of forest roughly 500 square

meters – less than 1/8 of an

acre. This suggests that the

TBS site overall has an incred-

ible number of ant species. As

ants are often used as indica-

tors of overall diversity, TBS

is one of the most species rich

sites in the world.

Kari Ryder Wilkie is

currently expanding this pre-

liminary survey by sampling

ants from transects in diverse

habitats at TBS. In addition

to obtaining a total species list

for ants, many of which

promise to be new to science,

Ryder Wilkie plans to correlate diversity with ecological factors

such as litter depth, resource availability, and soil type. By

sampling ants from the top of the canopy to the depths of the soil,

a more complete picture of ant diversity will emerge. In

collaboration with Dr. Terry Erwin, a tropical biologist from the

Smithsonian Institution, Ryder Wilkie is identifying arboreal ants

collected by fogging – a technique using degradable Pyrethrum to

stun a wide range of canopy invertebrates, which then fall to the

forest floor for easy collection. In addition, underground probes

are being utilized to bait rarely collected subterranean ants.

Analysis of these data will help researchers understand patterns of

ant biodiversity, and extrapolate these patterns to tropical diver-

sity as a whole.

Despite the diversity of ants in tropical forests, little is

known about their evolution and maintenance. Amy Mertl’s

thesis research is examining the dynamics of competition among

ant species and the role of competition in promoting tropical ant

diversity. Mertl is focusing on one diverse genus of ants –

Pheidole. The tiny Pheidole represent the most diverse group of

ants in the world, with more described species than any other ant

genus – currently close to 900. At sites within TBS, Mertl has

collected 30-40 species of Pheidole coexisting on the forest floor,

all opportunistically foraging on similar resources. By quantify-

ing the competitive strategy of each Pheidole species – including

aspects such as territory size, activity cycles, aggressive behav-

iors, speed of locating and recruiting nestmates to food sources,

and dominance – the way in which competition structures the

assemblages can be critically examined. After developing a

phylogenic tree of these species, Mertl plans to further investigate

the role of competition in the evolution of this highly diverse

group, as a model for the overall evolution of diversity. Mertl was

recently awarded a 3-year pre-doctoral graduate fellowship from

the National Science Foundation.

NEW CECB FACULTY ASSOCIATES

CECB is pleased to welcome two new Faculty Associates – Margrit Betke, an Assistant Professor in the Department of ComputerScience, and Ayako Yamaguchi, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology.

Margrit Betke (betke@bu.edu)Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1995

Computer Vision

Ayako Yamaguchi (ay@bu.edu)Ph.D., University of California at Davis, 1996

Behavioral Neurobiology, Neuroendocrinology, AnimalCommunication

Kari Ryder Wilkie setting up “WinklerTraps” to sample the forest leaf litter.

Amy Mertl digging up ant colonies at the TiputiniBiodiversity Station.

Leafcutter ants at the TiputiniBiodivirsity Station -- Atta spp.

NEW TITLES BY CECB FACULTY ASSOCIATES

T. L. Crisman, L. J. Chapman, C. A.Chapman, and Les Kaufman have recentlyedited Conservation, Ecology and Man-agement of African Fresh Waters (ISBN:0813026008; University Press of Florida).This 514-page book details the rich biodi-versity of fresh waters in Africa, a vastcontinent where water itself is life’s mostprecious commodity. Composed of a seriesof closely related case studies and synthe-ses, the book is a product of workshops atAAAS and the University of Florida basedon decades of work by African and interna-tional scientists.

Thomas Kunz co-edited (with M. BrockFenton) the newly published Bat Ecology(ISBN: 0226462064; University of Chi-cago Press). This 779-page book draws onthe expertise of world-renowned bat schol-ars to comprehensively examine the keyroles that bats play in many ecosystems.Life history and the functional ecology ofthese fascinating creatures are explored aswell as larger macroecological topics suchas evolution of diversity and the emergenceof infectious diseases. The book alsoincludes a discussion of the importance ofbat conservation and the challenges thatawait researchers.

Phillip Lobel is the author of Marine Lifeof Johnston Atoll, Central Pacific Ocean(ISBN: 0939560275; Natural World Press).The 128-page book is a pictorial and narra-tive guide to the abundant marine life thatexists in and around the Atoll habitat. Thisbook represents the culmination of overtwo decades of research by Lobel atJohnston Atoll. It further provides a briefhistory of the Atoll and it’s importance tothe United States Department of Defense.

This 5-volume Encyclopedia of Energy,edited by Cutler Cleveland, is due out thiscoming spring. These volumes will pro-vide accessible information concerning allaspects of energy, covering a plethora ofareas throughout the natural, social, andengineering sciences. The volumes in-clude contributions from over 400 interna-tional authorities, including contributionsby CECB Faculty Associates CutlerCleveland, Robert Kaufman, andThomas Kunz.

GROUNDWATER IN EASTERN ARABIA....CONTINUED

The research began by acquiring all available satellite images(multi-spectral and radar). These have been computer processed andenhanced to produce a mosaic based on “control points” selected fromtopographic maps. Drainage maps were made by tracing valleysegments to visualize the route of surface water, following the occa-sional rain. Faults in the rock have also been mapped because theyrepresent passageways that carry surface water from the uplands to thelowlands. Some of that water exits beyond coastlines and can beidentified by the thermal band in the images, as it is warmer thanseawater. Finally, radar images were used to identify differences insurface topography and to re-veal buried channels offormer rivers and streams.

Field observationswere required to confirm theinterpretations of satellite im-ages. For example, it wasnecessary to check in the fieldwhether the mapped faults areporous enough to allow thetransmission of water fromthe surface to the ground.

Topographic mapsof the region were scanned toproduce a digital elevationmodel to serve as the base forcorrelation with other data.This requires the establish-ment of a geographic informa-tion system (GIS) database.In it, each data set is digitallystored as a layer and utilized for correlation with other sets.

These correlations have resulted in the selection of areas mostlikely to host groundwater, and became the object of planned explora-tion to establish both the depth of the extractable water and its salinity. Ifthe water is sweet (i.e. has a low salinity), it can be used for humanconsumption and agricultural purposes. If the salinity is high, the waterwould be considered for desalination by reverse osmosis.

The research project will continue for two more years, at theend of which the potential for strategic reserves of groundwater will beestablished. This is a case of using hi-tech instrumentation andadvanced techniques to find a resource where it is needed most. Nothingcan be more satisfying to a researcher than tangible benefits of theresearch to human needs.

NEELEY RECEIVES STOYE AWARD

Graduate student, Elizabeth Neeley was recently presentedwith the Stoye Award for best student oral presentation at the an-nual meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Her-petologists for her talk, “Trends in color patterns among Neotro-pical wrasses.” While this award is typically won by studentspresenting their final dissertation research, Neeley is a first year

PhD. student in the Boston University Marine Program.

Faculty Associate and Director of Bos-ton University’s Center for Remote Sens-ing, Dr. Farouk El-Baz, standing in frontof a satellite image of the Arabian Pen-insula.

THE BOSTON UNIVERSITY

TROPICAL ECOLOGY PROGRAM

The BU-Tropical Ecology Program experienced yet another successful year.Students from BU and beyond continue to rave about the program and the experience ofconducting field research. Students in the program leave Ecuador feeling confidentabout their ability to design and conduct research experiments, and are more prepared forthe next step in their academic and professional careers.

The field portion- priceless. All ecology students should be so lucky to spend so much time inthe field. This program was amazing because of the field portion. Danielle Bulgier, Fall 2002.

I learned without realizing it, classes were interesting, and creating my own projects taughtme a lot. Caroline Agrawal, Fall 2002.

The program offers amazing experiences that are a unique opportunity for any student!Deirdre Grant, Spring 2003.

The Biology Specialization in Ecology and Conservation Biology

The May 2003 Commencement ceremony marked the graduation of 10 students witha Specialization in Ecology and Conservation Biology.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW???BOSTON UNIVERSITY-TROPICAL ECOLOGY PROGRAM ALUMNI

Carlos Shedd (Spring ’97) graduated from Allegheny College and is currently working for Earth Tech as a consultant and anemergency responder for the EPA/FEMA. sheddc@hotmail.com

Holly Stockwell (Spring ’97) graduated from BU in May 1999 with a degree in Biology. She is currently completing graduateschool at Northern Arizona University. Her graduate studies have taken her to Honduras to study tropical forestry and toSoutheast Asia on a Harvard Fellowship to study ecotourism. HStockwell@aol.com

Shannon Gustafson (Spring ’99) graduated from BU in May 2000 with a degree in Biology. She has just completed trainingwith the Peace Corps in Cameroon. For the next two years, she will be living in Be, a small village in Northern Cameroon doingagroforestry work with the local people. shadylane78@yahoo.com

Jennifer Silverston (Spring ’99) graduated from BU in May 2000 with a degree in Biology. She is currently working on aMasters degree in alternative energy conservation at Northern Michigan University. jsilver7@yahoo.com

Christine Kontomerkos (Spring ’99) graduated from BU in May 2000 with degrees in Biology and Philosophy. She iscurrently studying to become a Naturopathic Physician and acupuncturist. chrisinek78@hotmail.com

George Lock (Spring ’00) graduated from BU in May 2000 with a degree in Biology. He is currently pursuing a Masters ofScience degree in ecology and conducting research in paleoecology at Fordham University. lock@fordham@bu.edu

Kristine Faloon (Spring ’01) graduated from BU in May 2002 with a degree in Biology. For the past year, she has beenresearching the effect of human disturbance on the incidence of parasitism in snails in different parts of Lake Tanganyika, inTanzania. This past Spring (2003) Kristine was the TF for the BU-TEP. She is currently working for the Institute for TropicalMarine Ecology (ITME) in Dominica, again as a TF, for their semester program. k_faloon@hotmail.com

Catherine Fox (Spring ’02) graduated from BU in January 2003 with a Masters degree in Biology. She currently works as aCommunity Programs Naturalist at the Chattahoochee Nature Center in Georgia. catherinehfox@hotmail.com

TEP student hiking in the Cloud Forest.

LOOKING BACK ON BU’S

TROPICAL ECOLOGY PROGRAM

When asked how their trip to Ecuador was, studentsreturning from the BU-TEP* are full of energy and eager to recantevery step they took. As a graduate student in the BostonUniversity Marine Program, escaping the marine confinements tostudy abroad was the best way to utilize my time while accumulat-ing course credits. Having focused my career on marine ecology,I was certain at the time that the Ecuadorian coast plus theGalápagos would be by far the best segment of the program…orso I thought.

The Galápagos and Ecuadorian Coast had some majorcompetition including 4 a.m. wake up calls to watch male birdsliterally portray themselves as “cock-of-the-rocks,” calling formates in a cloud forest lek. Or perhaps a better example would beour stealthy hikes through the rainforest to Canopy Tower I at theTiputini Biodiversity Station to watch for monkeys and visit our“pet” conga ant. For that matter, even walking through the streetsof Quito to catch a pink bus to school, without being run over,while eating your typical breakfast of bread and cheese withGalapagitos and a hanuta, was an experience in itself. It isdifficult to label any one segment or even one experience in theBU-TEP as “the best!”

Our semester long program began in the páramo andcloud forest regions near Quito, the capital of Ecuador, exploringthe medicinal uses of local plants, observing nocturnal insects, andwaiting out rain storms under enormously enlarged Araceaeleaves. The next portion of the program, Tropical CoastalEcology, included trips to the mainland coast at Los Piqueros andthen the Galápagos Islands. The combination of these two sitesallowed us to truly understand the connection between the main-land and the vegetation rafts partially responsible for populatingthe islands. Our time was spent exploring the diverse tide poolsand sandy beaches that hid sand dollars and crabs, and hosted theunforgettable end of the stay “Piqueros pageant!” A culminatingtrip to the Galápagos, one of the last pristine environments in theworld, definitely delivered with its unique evolutionarily adaptedbirds, iguanas, and fishes…and judus goats; an example of howresearchers at the Charles Darwin Station are dealing with intro-

duced species.Finally, we embarked for the 100% drenched rainforest,

to immerse ourselves in Rainforest Ecology! Again, with mymarine bias, I was worried about the humidity (hate it!),poisonous snakes, enormous conga ants, and getting lost on theHarpia trail, but the rainforest was actually my favorite segmentof the program! The twelve species of monkeys, infinite plantdiversity, bat experiments, and overall animal presence weremost amazing. I came to truly believe Professor Kelly Swing’sphilosophy that every time you walk through the forest, withinfifteen minutes you’ll find something new. Our month-long stayat the Tiputini Biodiversity Station was truly incredible and wasby far the best field experience I have ever had. So what if myshoes grew mold, I was constantly wet from the rain andhumidity or being scared by tree falls, or a slithering snake? Ilived in a rainforest. Program summary: too amazing to bereal…until you’ve experienced it!

Andrea HsuBU-TEP Fall 2002

*The BU-TEP is an 18-credit, intensive, semester long program offeredin the Fall and Spring Semesters in Ecuador. Courses are taught inblock format and include Tropical Montane Ecology, Tropical CoastalEcology, Tropical Rainforest Ecology, Studies in Tropical Ecology, andSpanish Language and Culture. For more information about the BU-TEP please visit the CECB website at www.bu.edu/cecb.

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE ON SIGNALS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SPECIES MAINTENANCE

In light of our ever changing understanding of genetics, one cannot deny that DNA provides the blueprint formodes of communication, complex sensory systems, characteristics of population variation, and species descriptions.However, DNA does not act independently, but rather the expression of DNA is influenced by the environment on bothmicro and macro scales.

In the laboratory of Faculty Associate Gil Rosenthal, the question of how selective forces influence the evolutionof communication signals and the sensory or perceptual mechanisms that receive these signals is addressed. Rosenthal’sresearch focuses primarily on freshwater and marine fishes of the New World tropics in order to examine questions whichemphasize an integrative approach, by combining behavioral experiments, field observations, molecular genetics, andneurobiology. The unifying theme of the diverse inquiries in his lab unequivocally focus on geographic variation. Rosenthal,along with his graduate students are primarily investigating two unique geographic regions; 1) the Caribbean and theeastern Pacific, and 2) the freshwater systems of the Sierra Madre in tropical Mexico. (continued on page 6)

Sunset over the Pacific Ocean at Los Piqueros, Ecuador.

TRANSLATING GENETIC DIVERSITY INTO PATTERNS OF LARVAL DISPERSEMENT-RESEARCH FOR EFFECTIVE MARINE MANAGEMENT

As new assessments of oceanic species of ecological and economic importance are being evaluated, it has becomeincreasingly clear to the scientific community and the public at large that the development of effective marine management is anecessity. There are many natural and abiotic factors that complicate this management, not the least of which is that the majority ofmarine organisms demonstrate a life-history phase where larvae enter into the plankton and are dispersed by swimming or aremoved by ocean currents. Despite the prevalence of this life-history phase, little is known about marine larval dispersal because the

larvae are so small compared to the vast oceans. Because larvaldispersal ecologically and genetically connects distant popula-tions, understanding this process is critical to the development ofmarine management strategies.

The laboratory of Faculty Associate Paul Barber has beenactive in applying molecular genetic techniques to uncover pat-terns of marine larval dispersal in a variety of tropical marineorganisms. Working on stomatopods (mantis shrimp) in Indone-sia, Barber has challenged the long held assumption that strongocean currents promote long distance dispersal. Instead his resultsshowed that physical oceanography and ecology may actuallylimit larval dispersal, while it is the spacing of settlement steppingstones that truly promote dispersal among distant populations.This work has previously documented, unknown distinct biogeo-graphic regions within the Indo-West Pacific, data that are beingused by The Nature Conservancy and the Indonesian Governmentin the planning and documenting of future marine reserves. Barberwas recently funded by the National Coral Reef Institute toexpand this area of research through comparative study of sto-

matopods in the Caribbean in collaboration with Dr. Roy Caldwell of UC Berkeley.In 2002, Barber took a novel approach to the study of marine larval dispersal by examining the recolonization of Krakatau,

a volcanic island that destroyed all life in its proximity during a catastrophic eruption in 1883. Examining levels of genetic diversity,Barber was able to determine that stomatopod populations on Krakatau have fully recovered from their 1883 extirpation, indicatingthat larval dispersal across the 50-km separating this island and mainland populations has been very common. These results provideinsights into how far stomatopod larvae may disperse in the plankton and how marine populations may recover from anthropogenicdamage if the populations are given protection. Barber will be continuing his work on Krakatau in the coming year with fundingfrom the National Science Foundation. He will examine patterns of genetic diversity in a variety of reef dwelling organisms todetermine how each has recovered from the 1883 eruption and which life-history characteristics promote the rapid recovery ofhealthy populations.

SIGNALS AND IMPLICATIONS... CONTINUED

Three million years ago, the Isthmus of Panama severed the marine connection between the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific,creating strikingly different visual environments in the two areas: the Caribbean is characterized by bright, clear waters and coral reefs,whereas the eastern Pacific has murky water and rocky shoals. Many fish species on one side of the Isthmus have their nearest relativeon the other side, allowing for the opportunity to make multiple, independent evolutionary comparisons of the effect of signaling habitaton communication. In the Rosenthal lab, Ph.D. student Elizabeth Neeley is measuring color patterns, color sensitivity, and environmen-tal light conditions in order to evaluate the effect of the environment on both visual signaling and visual perception.

In the eastern Sierra Madre of tropical Mexico, two divergent species of swordtails – small live-bearing fish – come intocontact and produce natural hybrids. Swordtails use a variety of visual and olfactory cues to choose their mates, and in most othercases females reliably select males of their own species. Ph.D. student Heidi Fisher is trying to understand how mate choice andenvironmental conditions interact to structure the hybrid zone. How have environmental factors, such as changes in pH and waterclarity, led to the breakdown in mate choice mechanisms? How does natural selection and sexual selection act across the hybrid zone?These questions are being addressed through a combination of behavioral experiments and molecular-genetic techniques.

The findings of these studies in distinct geographic systems will have important implications for interpreting the role ofenvironment in the maintenance and evolution of fishes. With the rate at which human populations are physically and chemicallyaltering the environment, this research may provide further evidence for the possible ramifications of such actions and steps toconserve biodiversity.

Barber collecting stomatopods in Curacao.

TROPICAL ECOLOGY SCHOLARSHIP FUND

The Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology, incollaboration with Boston University’s Office of Development andAlumni Relations, continues its fund-raising campaign to supportscholarships for undergraduates, graduate students, and post-doc-toral scholars to conduct research in ecology and conservationbiology.

With your support, we can continue to train and fundstudents in conservation research worldwide. We invite each ofyou to contribute to this worthy cause.

CECB wishes to acknowledge and thank the followingindividuals and organizations for their generous support during thepast year.

Stratosphere Club (≥ $50,000)Contributions at this level help us to acquire equipment as well asfund graduate students and post-doctoral scholars.•The Lubee Foundation

Ecosphere Club ($10,000 - $49,999)Two contributions of $10,000 support one graduate student toconduct research in the tropics for one full year.• The Chiles Foundation

Canopy Club ($5,000 - $9,999)Gifts at this level will help us purchase equipment for research.

Director’s Club ($2,500 - $4,999)Director’s Club gifts will help construct an extension to thecanopy walkway at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station.

Rainforest Club ($1,000 - $2,499)These gifts will help upgrade computers and library resources atthe Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Ecuador.

Friends of CECB (up to $999)Friends of CECB provide general program support.• Todd Klipp, BU General Council• John Rizzo, CAS ‘72• Marshall Sloane, BU Trustee

Join CECB Director, Thomas Kunz, next spring on ajourney to the Tiputini Biodiversity Station (TBS) in the

Amazonian Rainforest of Ecuador.

BE SURE TO SAVE THESE DATES:March 4-13, 2003

Let your imagination take flight as you venture into theAmazon Rainforest. Spend your days birding from the

Tiputini River or one of the Station’s two40-meter canopy towers!

Or follow a trail through the forest and be amazed at the new crea-tures and sites along each step!

Either way, this trip promises to be an adventure that you won’tsoon forget! Please join Dr. Kunz on this excursion of a lifetime.

For more information or to reserve a space, pleasecontact Bethany Bernasconi at (617)353-6982 or

cecb@bu.edu.

A view from a canoe of theTiputini River.

Students in the Tropical Ecology Program, birding on theTiputini River.

One rainforest resident; a white-throated toucan.

BU-TEP T-SHIRTS AVAILABLE

CECB continues to sell T-shirts to promote and com-memorate the Tropical Ecol-ogy Program in Ecuador. T-shirts are currently on sale for$12.00. To order, please senda check (payable to CECB) tothe Center Administrator,CECB, Boston University, 5Cummington Street, Boston,MA 02215. Be sure to includethe size you would like for usto send.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ANY OF THE ITEMS IN THIS ISSUEPLEASE CONTACT CECB

*Mail: CECB, 5 Cummington St., Boston, MA 02215 *Phone: (617)353-6982 *Fax: (617)353-5383*On the web: http://www.bu.edu/cecb *E-mail: cecb@bu.edu

FACULTY ASSOCIATES BETKE, CLEVELAND, KUNZ, AND SCLAROFF AWARDED

NSF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH GRANT

For many years the public perception of bats has been less than favorable,and while bats have frequently been associated with negative stereotypes ranging fromvampires to pests, few people have been aware of their intrinsic value and economicimportance. However, a team of Faculty Associates and their colleagues from the Uni-versity of Tennessee, the USDA, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are workingto change these perceptions and shed light on the economic and ecological value of batsby understanding their importance and partnership with humans in agroecosystems.

Millions of Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) voraciously con-sume enormous quantities of insects each summer night throughout the southwesternUnited States. These bats provide an agricultural pest control service little understoodby the scientific community, policy makers, or the general public. A team of scientistsled by CECB Director Thomas Kunz, in collaboration with Stan Sclaroff, and FacultyAssociates Magrit Betke and Cutler Cleveland, as well as their graduate students, areworking together to gain an understanding of the ecosystem services that these bats

provide and bring this information intoa public awareness with the aid of anewly awarded grant. The project, en-titled Advanced Imaging and Information Technology for Assessing the Ecological andEconomic Impact of Brazilian Free-tailed Bats on Agroecosystems, was recently awarded$2.4 million from the National Science Foundation as a five-year grant. This project isinnovative in its application of information technology and unique in its complexity andscale, which is largely attributable to the involvement and collaborative efforts of com-puter scientists, applied mathematicians, meteorologists, agricultural entomologists, ecolo-gists, and ecological economists.

The research team will employ advanced infrared thermal imaging, ultrasonic de-tectors, and Doppler radar imaging to census bat and insect populations, as well as togather information on bat flight paths and foraging behaviors. Based on these data, com-putational models of the agricultural-insects-bats system will be derived, which will helpgeneralize local population models to landscape and continental scales. These data will,for the first time, enable researchers to assess the overall economic and ecological impact

of the Brazilian free-tailed bats on agricultural ecosystems on a nationwide scale. The results of this work have the potential to alter policy,the public perception, and the conservation of bat populations world-wide.

Close-up view of Brazilian free-tailed bats emerg-ing from a cave, as detected using an infraredthermal imaging camera.

Brazilian free-tailed bats detected using an infraredthermal imaging camera, as they emerge from a cavein south-central Texas. These images are used tocensus bats during nightly emergences.

COMPUTER SCIENCE STUDENT DIANE HIRSH RECIPIENT OF THE

LUBEE FOUNDATION AWARD

Undergraduate Computer Science student, Diane Hirsh (CAS ‘04) was recentlypresented with The Lubee Foundation Award, one of the few awards given for outstandingoral presentations at the 33rd North American Symposium in Bat Research. The symposiumwas hosted by the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, October 9-11, 2003. Hirsh’s paper,entitled “Censusing Brazilian Free-tailed Bats using Infrared Thermal Imaging and ComputerVision Methods,” was co-authored by Faculty Associate Margrit Betke, Thomas Kunz (Biol-ogy) and graduate students Jason Horn (Biology) and Steve Crampton (Computer Science).The research, supported in part by the recent NSF grant to Kunz and Betke, highlights theimportance of collaboration between ecologists and computer scientists. Undergraduate researcher, Diane Hirsh.