November, December News
I am very pleased to say that we managed to submit five applications for the NSF-USAID PEER opportunity at the end of November, with proposals from India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines.
BAT PhD Scholarship at Universiti Brunei Darussalam
The Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam is seeking a suitable applicant for Ph.D. in the research area of Bat Diversity, Distribution and Ecomorphology in Brunei. The position is open to international students, as well as Brunei citizens. Funding comes from the Brunei government and includes a living allowance, tuition fee and, for a successful overseas candidate, a flight to Brunei. The research is funded for three years.
Full details are provided in the attached document.
 UBD Bat PhD Scolarship | [ ] | 31 Kb |
Hundreds of Bats Disappear from West Java
This is a translation of a news article from a national TV news station (MetroTV) reporting on the mystery of bats disappearing from a West Java pilgrimage tourism area. Although the article does not say as much, I know the bats are Pteropus vampyrus
Monday, 28 November 2011
"Thousand of bats at Situ (Lake) Lengkong, Subdistrict Panjalu, Ciamis Regency, West Java, have suddenly disappeared. This phenomenon happened over almost 3 weeks and has astonished local residents and visitors from the outside area. The reason is because these bats are the symbol of Situ Lengkong pilgrimage tourism site, which has been occupied by bats for hundreds of years.
The bats inhabited a forest reserve in the center of an island at Situ Panjalu. Prabu Aria Kencana pilgrimage tourism area, or more likely well known as The Grave of Boros Ngora, is now free from this nocturnal animal.
The door keeper, Abdul Azis, said, the bats existence here had a big affect on the Situ Lengkong tourist area. This disappearing phenomenon is very surprising as this is the first time it's happened.
The tourism management staff hope that the bats will return to Situ Panjalu. The cause of the fleeing of hundreds of thousands of bats is not known yet. However, Situ Panjalu residents hope that there are people who can study the forest reserve condition because forest fragmentation is suspected to be the cause of wildlife losses in this ecosystem"
*Situ : Lake in Sundanese
Note from Tigga: It would be great if someone can follow up on this story and let us know if the bats return, particularly if bats really are (were) attracting tourists.
Funding opportunity for SEABCRU activities in Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam and Timor-Leste
USAID and NSF have launched a new funding opportunity called “PEER” which stands for Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research: http://sites.nationalacademies.org/pga/dsc/peer/index.htm
Materials for Outreach and Education
We have been reorganizing the website a little, and now have a resources section which includes materials for outreach and education. I have begun by uploading materials developed by the Malaysian Bat Conservation Research Unit, and will be adding in others over the coming weeks. If you have materials, please share them! And if you use materials, it would be great if you let us know how they were used. This is intended to be a cooperative venture. There is also an Outreach group in the SEABCRU social network -- join us via JomSocial tab here on the front page.