​​​​Kristen Lear, PhD

The Nivalis Conservation Network is a collaborative group of conservationists and researchers from U.S. and Mexican academic institutions, non-profit organizations, and government agencies working for the conservation of the endangered Mexican long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris nivalis). Each member of the group pursues his or her own research and conservation work with the species, but as a group we are collating our work and coordinating our efforts to best address the research and conservation priorities for the species. One of our collaborative efforts is a PIT tagging workshop/session at Infierno Cave in Nuevo Leon, the only confirmed maternity cave in Mexico. There are currently PIT tag readers installed at several other important roosting sites for the species, including the mating cave (Cueva del Diablo in central Mexico) and a maternity cave in Big Bend National Park (Texas). Our session at Infierno Cave in 2017 provided hands-on training to members of the group on deploying PIT tags and setting up the readers, and expanded our network of PIT tag monitoring to help us better understand the movements of this endangered species across its migratory range.