Conserving the Bats of Argentina: a Challenge of 40 Years

BARQUEZ R.M.

MONTEREY CALIFORNIA

Conferencia; 45TH ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM ON BAT RESEARCH; 2015

NASBR

Studies of bats in Argentina were hampered in the past decades due to government policies and cultural attitudes of people who did not supported the growth of biology, especially everything related to projects for conservation. The growth and consolidation of the current generation of professionals, active in chiropterology, was achieved thanks to an extreme perseverance and passion for the study of bats, which were stronger than the obstacles. The first steps were very difficult due to the extreme lack of knowledge of the species inhabiting the entire country, where only 29 species were known by the early 70s, and there were no field guides or books that could help in the task. Then, to study bats one should enter into the systematics, distribution and ecology of one of the most poorly known group of mammals in Argentina, with minimal information on distribution and ecology. After learning the basics of bat biology across the complex landscapes of Argentina, we were challenged to convey the information to government officials to gain support for conservation actions, fighting against many folk tales, myths, and fears, which were part of the public perception. At the present time the studies of bats in Argentina has continued with their primary scientific aspects, but adding to their concerns the object "conservation" by creating the PCMA (Argentine Bats Conservation Program) which, by joining the RELCOM (Latin American Network for Bat Conservation) has started to work in conservation of the species and areas in Latin America and the Caribbean.