Diving into the World of Bats:
Small Creatures with a big Impact
​
Bats represent one of the most extraordinary, important, and understudied groups of animals on the planet. We try to better understand them to support conservation, well-being, and the health of the planet.
The Bat Biology Foundation
The Bat Biology Foundation (BBF) is a unit of Paratus Sciences created to support and promote bats, bat research, and bat researchers for the public good.
​
We do this by (1) creating opportunities for research and researchers; (2) generating permanent data repositories to share bat research data; and (3) raising awareness of the importance of bats and bat research.
A Partnership Took Flight
In 2022, we started collaborating with the bat research community world wide.
BBF is since actively creating opportunities that facilitate research into bats, both in the field and in the lab. Our efforts in data stewardship are generating long-term repositories for sharing bat research data and information in an accessible and open manner.
Furthermore, we aim to raise awareness so that everyone can recognize the exceptional nature of bats and the importance of studying this group of mammals and protecting them, and our ecosystems through conservation efforts.
Work with us
As part of our BBF mission, we aim to create opportunities for bat research and generate data that will contribute to our understanding of bats. In conjunction with the Bat1K consortium, we are working with researchers across the globe to further whole genome sequencing, assembly and annotation of bat species.
To this end, we are facilitating the collection of bat samples from diverse families and species that have not yet been sequenced. We use these samples to perform genome sequencing to the highest standards, following Bat1K metrics and guidelines, and make the fully annotated sequences available to the public. We are particularly interested in rare species or those with unique physiological characteristics whose sequences will contribute to valuable insights for the bat community.
​
We can work with you in two ways to generate these sequences:
​
-
Expeditions to collect samples: ​​ We fund select expeditions to collect high quality samples that fit the criteria described above. When we wre newly established, we already funded two expeditions in 2022, taking place in Malawi and Israel. In 2023, we launched a fieldwork and expedition grant programme, awarding five bat researchers going into the field 2023/2024.
-
Sequencing from existing samples: We work with you to transfer samples in your possession that fit the criteria described above and meet our traceabilty and quality standards. Do you have access to such samples? Then don't hesitate to reach out!
Social Media
​
We show our commitment to advancing the frontiers of bat research and conservation through action. In 2023, we proudly launched our much-anticipated Expedition and Field Work Grant Program.
​
Our program was specially tailored to support early career scientist on their journey to conduct their own field work on bats. Our primary goal is to empower and equip researchers with the essential resources to conduct their fieldwork.
In addition, our awardees play a crucial role in collecting our high quality bat samples for genome sequencing. They will collect a carefully selected list of species for us and receive authorship on the genome sequence publication (genome note).
​
To ensure a fair selection procedure, we consulted six external grant reviewers who are top experts in the bat research world. Based on their insightful advice, the Bat Biology Foundation Team made the final selection of awardees.
We are more than pleased to announce our awardees to you, and to let you know all the exciting places they will go to!
​
Join us celebrating the achievements of our awardees during their fieldwork! You can get a glimpse into the first expeditions on our social media, but also in our gallery here
Expeditions
BBF GRANT PROGRAM: Expeditions and Field Work
The BBF Team
Sonja Vernes
Founding Director
Paul Matsudaira
Co-Director
Meike Mai
Project and Communications Coordinator
Georgie Wood
Operations officer