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Jennifer Krauel

Exploring aeroecology and life in the night sky

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  • About me
    • CV
    • Publications
    • Reflections
  • Aeroecology
  • Research
  • Blog
  • Media
  • Contact
  • Search
Photo: clouds after sunset

nocturnal aeroecology

The aerosphere is a three-dimensional “landscape” of wind currents, with varying directions, temperatures, humidity, and turbulence mostly invisible to our human eyes. Like our familiar terrestrial environment, the aerosphere also changes over time, shifting with night and day and the seasons. In the daytime, heat rising from the ground leads to thermals, which animals can use for vertical transport (e.g. hawks rising in circles, but aphids do this too!). But at night, fast-moving nocturnal jet winds flow hundreds of feet above the ground, even when the air is still at ground level. The direction and speed of these jets are influenced by barometric pressure and weather fronts, and temperature is sometimes warmer than at ground level.

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Living in this environment requires sensory and physiological adaptations currently very poorly understood, especially because it is generally too dark to use visual cues. For example, insects may be able to sense turbulence within those jet winds and use that to align themselves with favorable directions. Many animals use celestial or geo-magnetic cues for navigation. Insects migrating in these jet winds are vertically collected in layers, possibly in warmer or less turbulent air. Predators like bats must deal with strong winds and effects on echolocation calls from variation in temperature, humidity, and pressure. Those adapted to this environment use it for transportation, finding prey or avoiding capture, and likely many other behaviors currently unknown.

The challenges of studying this environment mean that aeroecology requires a collaboration of many different science disciplines: atmospheric, earth, geography, and computer sciences in addition to biological approaches such as behavioral and physiological ecology. We also have to be creative in developing or adapting technologies for this fascinating and important research. For example, decoding weather radar to detect animal signals, or flying helium balloons to lift bat detectors up high. So if you see blinking lights in the night sky, it could be aliens, but it’s more likely scientists studying nocturnal aeroecology!


Questions? Comments? There’s more information in the blog entries below, but please feel free to start a conversation with me on Twitter: Tweet to @batgrrl

Night sky image by robson-hatsukami-morgan

The Aeroscope

October 14, 2021

The AeroscopeRead More

I’m a Nat Geo Explorer!

May 29, 2019

I’m a Nat Geo Explorer!Read More

I am the night

Do bats eat moths? (Or: can you learn from memes?)

December 30, 2018

Do bats eat moths? (Or: can you learn from memes?)Read More

Photo: People walking along the ridge of a windy sand dune

Welcome to my new site!

November 21, 2018

Welcome to my new site!Read More

Photo: scientists carrying Helikite across a grassy field

What’s going on up there?

July 12, 2018

What’s going on up there?Read More

Screen shot: Free-tailed bats adjust foraging behavior in response to migratory moths

Bats adjust foraging behavior in response to migratory moths

May 1, 2018

Bats adjust foraging behavior in response to migratory mothsRead More

Screen shot of a radar showing echos of bats and insects

The Batscan!

April 12, 2018

The Batscan!Read More

Screen shot: Testing traditional assumptions about regional migration in bats

Regional migrant bats don’t read the memo

March 12, 2018

Regional migrant bats don’t read the memoRead More

Screen shot: Predator-prey interaction reveals local effects of high-altitude insect migration

Bats eat migratory moths! Lots of them!

February 11, 2018

Bats eat migratory moths! Lots of them!Read More

Screenshot: Patterns of Bat Distribution and Foraging Activity in San Francisco

Bats in the city

October 16, 2017

Bats in the cityRead More

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Your AeroEcoTour Guide:

mmHi, I'm Dr. Jennifer Krauel. I’m an ecologist who's fascinated by animal migration, especially when it comes to bats and insects and at high altitudes. My research is driven by a deep desire to conserve and protect biodiversity. Read more »

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Aeroecology

What is aeroecology? »
  • bat migration
  • conservation
  • free-tailed bats
  • insect migration
  • nocturnal aeroecology
  • predator-prey interaction
  • radar aeroecology
  • tools
  • why does it matter?
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