Håfa Adai, Mabuhay, and Hello! My interests in conservation began from exposure to outreach efforts of endangered species back home in the Marianas. The importance of preserving our species deeply resonated with me, and as I grew older my educational goals converged on the idea that I would eventually return to my homeland of the Marianas to play a vital role in their conservation efforts. I earned my B.S. in Integrative Biology at the University of Guam (UOG) in 2022. After graduation, I stayed on as a Research Associate with the UOG Research Corporation as part of an endangered butterfly and snail monitoring project, then later headed to Panama for a post-bac with the Global Sustainability Scholars RaMP-UP Program. That is where I had my first real dive into bat research at the Page Bat Lab!
It’s ironic how moving so far away from home felt like a full circle moment for me. Bats were one of the first organisms that sparked my interest in the world of conservation, and finally getting hands on experience at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) was a turning point for my passion in the sciences. Many fun nights were spent mist netting neotropical bats, discovering the diversity of bat species in Panama, and conducting behavioral experiments in flight cages. I initially co-led collaborative research on the foraging behavior of the frugivorous bat Carollia perspicillata, and later spearheaded an independent study on the novel bird-eating behavior of the carnivorous bat, Trachops cirrhosus.
Afterwards, I joined the Mariana Fruit Bat monitoring team back at UOG as I wanted to become more involved in bat conservation back home. I assisted in roost and station surveys, as well as collected fecal samples used to determine habitat use of the endangered species on military installations. Currently, I am a Ph.D. student here in the Kingston Bat Conservation Ecology lab at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where I will be exploring the conservation ecology of the endangered bat species found within the Marianas. I’m looking forward to developing my research ideas and experiencing life in the Midwest for the first time. In the long term, I hope to continue working in the Marianas while applying the knowledge and experiences I have gained to make a meaningful impact at a local level.
Outside the lab, I love climbing, lifting, running, reading, and crafting – anything that keeps me moving, curious, and creative!
Kingston Lab 