SciCafe: Bats and the Biodiversity Crisis

Wednesday, November 5, 2025

7 pm

A bat, seen hanging upside down, its wings folded around its body.
Riizz/Unsplash
Biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate.

What’s driving the global decline in biodiversity—and what can bats teach us about how to mitigate it?  

In this talk, Angelo Soto-Centeno, assistant curator in the Department of Mammalogy, will explore the drivers of species loss such as habitat fragmentation, climate change, and human impact through the lens of his research on bat populations. Using genomic, fossil, and distribution model data, Soto-Centeno will show how bats serve as powerful indicators of changes in species communities and provide insights into the mechanisms that shape species resilience. 

Resources for SciCafe’s Frequent Geeks  

Quick Pick: Exhibition updates from Puerto Rico

Big Bite: Into the Island of Bats - Shelf Life #14 

Deep Dive: Fossils reject climate change as the cause of extinction of Caribbean bats

 

ASL interpretation is available for this program. Please email [email protected] to reserve seats in our ASL section.