My MSc work explored the effects of different logging regimes on the foraging ecology of different species of bats. I found that some species prefer to feed at forest edges, while others prefer thinned-out forests and still others prefer intact forests. Based on this, I recommended a practice that harvests patches at different intensities to create a landscape mosaic of open, thinned, and intact forest patches. (See Foraging & Community Ecology for more)

During my first position as an environmental consultant, I assisted with the development of one of the first protocols for incorporating bats in Environmental Impact Assessments for the oil industry in Canada.  Prior to this, bats were not recognized as an important part of the ecosystem, but they are now regularly included in Impact Assessments. I also worked on contracts for natural gas development. As part of my consulting work, I completed several technical reports. I was also the first to capture a red bat in northern Alberta, which resulted in range extension for this species.

Patriquin, KJ.  2004. Red bat (Lasiurus borealis) captured in northeastern Alberta. Northwestern Naturalist 85: 28-30 PDF

More recently, I developed and implemented a research framework for testing hypotheses about the causes of bat fatalities at wind farms in southwestern Ontario to help inform a more targeted approach to minimizing the number of bat fatalities. Findings from this work have been summarized in a technical report currently under review with the goal to publish the results in a peer-reviewed journal in the near future.

Southwestern Ontario is now home to a new kind of farm. photo: KPatriquin