Department of Biology

Dr. Kalcounis-Rueppell talks at the Greensboro Arboretum

Posted on January 5, 2017

Approximately 20 people from the Sunset Hills Garden Club attended Dr. Kalcounis-Rueppell’s talk about biodiversity in bats and mice at the Greensboro Arboretum on November 16^th. Dr. Kalcounis-Rueppell spoke about her local research program and played the group some of the ultrasonic chirps and calls from the bats and mice. She also stressed the bats’ importance to the Piedmont region because bats are the main consumers of insects in our region. The alternative for dealing with those insects are pesticides that do not discriminate between mosquitos and pollinating insects (bees, butterflies, and moths). She described how bat houses could help provide bats with roosting habitats while keeping them out of people’s attics, and she brought a bat house to show as an example. This is a great example of how Biology faculty engage with the local community.