Albright partners with Rodale Institute to study bats, organic pest management

Albright College rising juniors Justin Hoffman and Joshua Reeder are spending their summer nights in a field monitoring bats – and not of the baseball variety.

Hoffman, a biochemistry major from Hatboro, and Reeder, a biology major from Lock Haven, are using ultrasonic acoustic equipment to monitor the presence of bats in orchards, vegetable patches and grain fields, and to track the rate at which the flying mammals are foraging on insects.

“Bats get a bad rap,” said Hoffman. “But they eat insects, especially around here.”

And that’s good news for farmers looking to manage pests organically.

Hoffman and Reeder’s summer research project is part of a larger, two-year study being led by the Kutztown-based Rodale Institute, in partnership with Albright and area farmers.

Rodale was awarded a $15,000 Northeast Sustainable Agriculture and Research Partnership grant to investigate the role bats can play in an integrated pest management strategy, which could help farmers save time and money, and reduce pollutants.

Karen Campbell, Ph.D., Albright’s resident bat expert and the P. Kenneth Nase M.D. ’55 Professor of Biology, is workingwithRodale scientist Kate Harms on the project. Campbell recruited Hoffman and Reeder, who have previously conducted bat research, to assist with the study as part of the Albright Creative Research Experience (ACRE) program.

ACRE is a multi-disciplinary program that affords Albright students the opportunity to conduct research or pursue creative endeavors during the three-week January Interim or summer break. Students work oneon-one with faculty advisors and receive stipends from the College.

“Josh and Justin developed their acoustic analysis skills during last summer’s ACRE research in work we did with the National Park Service at Valley Forge and Hopewell Furnace,” said Campbell. “This project with Rodale is a great opportunity for us to learn more about bats and agriculture while helping a nonprofit organization.”

Hoffman and Reeder are part of a group of 24 Albright students, from various academic disciplines, conducting ACRE projects this summer. As part of their work, ACRE students present on their research during the summer and fall, and often go on to present their findings at regional or national conferences or use it as a springboard for further study.

Most of Hoffman’s and Reeder’s research this summer is being conducted at agricultural sites at Rodale, but they are also studying bat activity at conventional farms and orchards off site. Some of the sites under the study are farmed organically, while others employ pesticides, and Hoffman and Reeder are investigating the impact this difference has on bat activity.

As part of the study, the researchers are also monitoring the effectiveness of bat boxes, which are installed to house bats that might already be active at farms.

For a complete list of summer 2016 ACRE projects, visit http://www.albright.edu/elcdc/el/ACRE/recipients. html.