Jeremy Froidevaux (current final year student, University of Bristol) has been awarded this year’s Vincent Weir Scientific Award for his contribution to bat research.
This annual award is given by the Bat Conservation Trust to a postgraduate student who has accomplished an important piece of research that will contribute to bat conservation. Jeremy’s research that he is recognised for includes a number of publications:
- From field surveys to LiDAR: Shining a light on how bats respond to forest structure by J.S.P. Froidevaux, F. Zellweger, K. Bollmann, G. Jones and Obrist M.K in Remote sensing of Environment.
This demonstrated the importance of canopy gaps for foraging bats, and highlighted how novel imaging methods (LiDAR) can be used to quantify bat habitats in ways hitherto impossible.
- Factors driving population recovery of the greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) in the UK: implications for conservation by J. Froidevaux, K. Boughey, K. Barlow and G. Jones in Biodiversity and Conservation
Analysed NBMP data to determine mechanisms driving recent population increases in greater horseshoe bats. It was discovered that climate warming was an important driver, and that the extent of land under agri-environments schemes did not correlate with rates of population change.
Congratulations Jeremy!