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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: Two Helikites flying next to each other

tools for studying aeroecology

Life in the night sky is difficult to study! What tools are available to study aeroecology? This is an ever-expanding and evolving list. The possibilities for research get even better when you mix and match multiple tools. This can improve the accuracy of your data, and can mean your results apply to a greater variety of different conditions, animals and situations. Here’s a quick tour through the toolbox:

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Direct sampling: Use balloons, kites, or drones to lift nets or acoustic/video recording devices aloft.

Trapping: Use black light, pheromone, or other traps ground level to detect arrival of migratory insects. Use mist nets to capture birds or bats visiting a site.

Telemetry: Attach transmitters to animals and track individual movement. As technology improves, we can track smaller animals, even insects, for longer durations. And with the Icarus system installed on the space station, telemetry is something you’ll definitely want to keep an eye on.

Radar: A variety of radar technologies will reveal animal movement overhead, including specialized bird and insect radars as well as weather radar.

Stable isotopes: Elements such as hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen can be traced to geographical ranges, and animals living in those areas bear the traces in their fur or other body parts. Use this to find out where a particular animal was born or spent a season.

Museum specimens: Records of what animals were found when and where can reveal clues about seasonal movement or changes in populations over time.

Predator diet analysis: Bats and birds that eat flying insects can sample for us when we examine prey remains from fecal samples using molecular sequencing and genetic databases matches.

Particle trajectory modeling: Many insects travel with the wind, and we can use models of wind trajectories to identify likely sources of pest infestations (pdf) or other migratory insect movement.

Pollen: Insect and other pollinators carry a record with them after visiting flowers. In just one example, moths captured in Texas carried citrus pollen from Mexico well before local trees were blooming.

Citizen science: Public sightings uploaded to databases such as iNaturalist or eBird can form the basis for large-scale and long-term research on animal movement.


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

Instrumenting the night sky

January 2, 2022

Instrumenting the night skyRead More

Meet Mothra

October 17, 2021

Meet MothraRead More

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: 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 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

Photo: View of submerged road in southern Indiana

Turning grant money into data

February 7, 2018

Turning grant money into dataRead 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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Recent Posts

Instrumenting the night sky

In the field

Meet Mothra

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