University of Auckland
   
Telemetry on Kapiti Island
 

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Below are some suggested research topics currently available in the Parsons Lab. However, potential students should feel free to rsearch and suggest their own topics.

Use of torpor and hibernation by native bats (Hons, MSc or PhD)
Bats cool their bodies during the day to save energy, known as daily torpor. In colder areas, they may also hibernate over winter. This project will use thermal radio-telemetry tags to document annual patterns of activity, and the use of daily torpor and hibernation by long-tailed and lesser short-tailed bats over a range of latitudes.
 
Behaviour of long-tailed bats around wind turbines (MSc or PhD)
Wind turbines can be a significant source of mortality for bats. Deaths occur due to collision with blades and towers, as well as through barotrauma. Theoretical assessments suggest that long-tailed bats (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) may be at risk from the increasing number of wind farms being constructed in New Zealand. This project will use mark-recapture techniques, acoustic monitoring and radio-telemetry to investigate the behaviour of long-tailed bats around wind turbines to better quantify their risk of mortality.
 
Ectoparasites of native bats and their role in rates of roost reuse (MSc or PhD)
Both long-tailed (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) and lesser short-tailed bats (Mystacina tuberculata) move roosts regularly during the summer, with average latencies ranging from a few days to weeks. It has been suggested that at least for M. tuberculata the bats move to minimise ectoparasite loads. This study will compare and contrast ectoparasite diversity and load between the two species in a sympatric population, and determine if this can be used to explain patterns of roost use.

 
Lesser-short-tailed bat roosts as nutrient hotspots in native forest (Hons or MSc)
Lesser short-tailed bats (Mystacina tuberculata) form large aggregations within trees in native forest. These roosts can host many thousands of bats and their faeces (guano) represent a potentially very large nutrient source within the forest. This project will investigate nutrient levels, and microbial and invertebrate diversity around large communal bat roosts, and compare this with control sites.
 
Location and real-time tracking of bats in flight using arrays of microphones (MSc or PhD)
Traditionally, bats are very difficult species to study because they are small, nocturnal and generally call only in the ultrasonic range. This has limited the resolution of data collected on their flight behaviour; studies rely on acoustics and radio-telemetry, two relative course measures of behaviour. Working with the Department of Physics, this study will develop a field-portable array of ultrasonic microphones capable of locating and tracking bats in real-time. This study would suit a student with a keen interest in electronics and physics.
 
Behavioural ecology of the endemic bat fly (Hons, MSc or PhD)
Mystacinobia zelandica is a small, flightless, blind dipteran that lives on the endemic lesser short-tailed bats (Mystacina tuberculata). The flies feed on the faeces of the host bat, and complete their entire lifecycle on the bat. This study will establish a captive colony of M. zelandica and subsequently investigate their reproductive behaviour. Of particular interest will be if the bat flies are eusocial and if the males defend the eggs from grooming by the host bat, as has been suggested in the literature. Depending on time constraints, the project may also investigate the distribution of bat flies on bats around New Zealand; some populations do not host the flies while others do.
 
Hauraki Gulf seabirds: acoustic biodiversity census and foraging hotspots (Hons, MSc or PhD)
The Hauraki Gulf Marine Park is internationally recognised region of extremely high, but relatively poorly understood, seabird biodiversity. A research collaboration between the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd, University of Auckland and Department of Conservation is currently investigating the biodiversity of key seabird breeding sites and foraging hotspots within the Hauraki Gulf Marine park. Acoustic monitoring and modelling techniques are being developed and employed to investigate seabird species-specific community composition of island groups including Little Barrier Island, The Mokohinau Islands, Hen and Chickens, and Poor Knights Islands. A key goal of this project is the refinement of acoustic techniques for quantifying recovery of seabird populations following conservation management actions such as pest eradications. Seabird biodiversity hotspots within the gulf are being investigated using a combination of advanced tracking and logging technology deployed on key gulf species such as Australasian gannets, fluttering shearwaters and little blue penguins. Stable isotope analyses of a broader suite of species are being employed to investigate the trophic structure of the seabird community within the gulf.
 
Automated location and classification of bird and bat calls in long-duration recordings (Hons, MSc or PhD)
Acoustic monitoring is increasingly being used in studies of biodiversity. Sound recorders are placed in the field for days to weeks and the resulting recordings analysed for the diversity and composition of fauna within a habitat, and how this may be changing over time. Acoustic monitoring is also a useful tool in biosecurity monitoring for invasive species such as starlings. The analysis of such data can be daunting often with terabytes of recordings made over several weeks. This project will use Hidden Markov Models and artificial neural networks to automatically locate and classify animal (birds and bats) calls in such recordings. This project would suit a student with a keen interest in bioacoustics, engineering, computer science, or mathematics.