Artwork by: Kiersten Cherry
We invite you to join us for the 16th Midwest Bat Working Group Annual Meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio from Wednesday, April 3rd to Thursday April 4th, 2024. A pre-conference social and workshop on advances in radio-telemetry will be held on Tuesday, April 2nd. The meeting will bring together biologists, private and public land managers, private consultation organizations, educational institutions, and citizen scientists from across the Midwest.
Registration, Lodging, and T-shirts
Program Overview
Call for Abstracts
Presentation and Poster Guidelines
Get to Know the MWBWG: "Speed Networking" with Professionals
Achievement and Student Awards
Optional Workshops
Meeting Announcement and Call for Abstracts
- DOWNLOAD -
2024 MWBWG Annual Meeting Program and Area Guide
Hosted by: Ohio Bat Working Group
THANK YOU TO OUR 2024 MWBWG MEETING SPONSORS!
Date and Location
Wednesday April 3rd, 2024 to Thursday April 4th, 2024. A pre-conference workshop and social will be held on April 2nd.
The meeting will take place:
- In-person: Hilton Cincinnati Netherlands Plaza, Cincinnati, OH
- Virtual: In-person presentations will be streamed live for attendees with virtual registrations. Unlike previous years, there will be no virtual presentations or poster session. Login information will be emailed to all registered virtual participants approximately 2 weeks prior to the meeting.
Registration, Lodging, and T-shirts
EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION (ENDS JANUARY 31) - CLOSED
- Professional/Regular In-person: $125.00
- Student In-person: $45.00
REGISTRATION (FEBRUARY 1 - CLOSES MARCH 3) - CLOSED
- Professional/Regular In-Person: $150.00
- Student In-Person: $60.00
VIRTUAL REGISTRATION (CLOSES APRIL 1) - CLOSED
- Professional/Regular: $25.00
- Student: $25.00
NOTE: One year of MWBWG membership is complimentary along with your in-person registration. This offer valid for in-person registrations only.
- REGISTER IS NOW CLOSED -
LODGING is available at:
- Hilton Cincinnati Netherlands Plaza (35 West Fifth Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202)
- The Hilton is offering a discounted rate which will be available through March 3rd. We strongly encourage booking before this date as lodging in Cincinnati is significantly more expensive outside of this rate.
- Rate: $149 + tax per night (Tuesday-Thursday April 2-4, 2024)
- Rooms are being held under the Group code: "BAT" and will be available until March 3, 2024.
- If booking your room online, please use the following link: https://group.hilton.com/lfupod
T-SHIRTS for the 16th Annual MWBWG Meeting are available for sale through the MWBWG Store starting at $18.00.
- T-shirt sales will be available until 5pm central March 3rd, 2024.
- T-shirts are only available online and in-person pick-up at the annual meeting.
- T-SHIRT SALES ARE NOW CLOSED -
Program Overview
This year's annual meeting will begin with pre-conference workshops on advances in radio-telemetry on Tuesday, April 2nd, followed by a riverboat cruise social. Presentations, an additional workshop, and business meetings will begin on Wednesday, April 3rd. A poster session and social will be held on Wednesday evening as will an in-person student only event. Oral presentations will be broadcast on the internet for those registered as virtual attendees.
Plenary Topic: Forming Partnerships for Conservation.
Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024 (Optional Workshops and Social)
| Afternoon |
Advances in Radio-telemetry Workshop |
| Evening |
Riverboat Cruise Social |
Wednesday, April 3rd, 2024
| Morning |
Registration/Check-in
|
| Mid-Morning |
Welcome & Presentations |
| Late-morning |
Get to Know the MWBWG:
"Speed Networking" with Professionals & the Board
|
| Afternoon |
Presentations |
| Evening |
Social & Poster Session |
| Evening |
Student Social |
Thursday, April 4th, 2024
| Morning |
Registration/Check-in/Breakfast (provided) |
| Mid-Morning |
Presentations |
| Early Afternoon |
Wildlife Acoustics Lunch-and-learn (optional) |
| Afternoon |
Presentations |
| Afternoon |
Business Meeting, Awards |
| Late Afternoon |
Depart |
Call for Abstracts
We are now accepting abstracts for oral and poster presentations.
We encourage professionals, students, and researchers to submit abstracts for in-person oral and poster presentations. The Wednesday evening social and poster session will be available in-person only. The schedule for oral presentations will be provided in the final agenda prior to the meeting.
The deadline for abstract submission is now February 26, 2024.
Abstracts will be accepted by email. Please email your abstract submissions to both: Dr. Allen Kurta (akurta@emich.edu) & Dr. Joe Johnson (joseph.johnson@uc.edu). Please label the subject line as "2024 MWBWG Abstract" and include the abstract as an attachment in Microsoft Word format.
All individuals submitting abstracts must be registered for the meeting to be eligible to present. Indicate in the email whether the preferred presentation is oral or poster. Abstracts should include name, organization, address of authors, and a title. Underline the name of the author who will be presenting the poster or talk. The Abstract should (1) state the principal objective(s) and scope of the investigation, (2) briefly describe the methods employed, (3) summarize the results, and (4) state the principal conclusions. The abstract should be less than 300 words.
Follow these format guidelines when preparing your abstract (see example below):
EXAMPLE:
ALLEGHENY WOODRAT (NEOTOMA MAGISTER) HABITAT
CHARACTERISTICS IN VIRGINIA
Michael T. Mengak, Steven B. Castleberry, and W. Mark Ford. D.B. Warnell School of Forest Resources,
University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 (MTM, SBC); USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station,
Newton Square, PA 19073 (WMF)
Presentation and Poster Preparation Guidelines
Guidelines for Oral Presentations
A total of 15 minutes will be allotted for presentations, including time for answering questions (3 min). All oral presentations must be in Microsoft PowerPoint.
Poster Guidelines
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Should be no larger than 48 inches tall x 36 inches wide.
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Should be readable from a distance of 2 meters.
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Title should be capitalized with lettering at least 2 cm high (e.g. 72 pt).
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Authors and institutional affiliations should be in upper- and lower-case lettering at least 11 mm high (e.g. 42 pt).
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Text lettering should be at least 9 mm high (e.g. 36 pt) with a line thickness of at least 1 mm.
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Text for Literature Cited section can be smaller if space is limited (e.g. down to 20 pt).
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Information should be well organized and concisely presented. Most posters include the following sections: Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion, Conclusions, Literature Cited.
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Keep written text to a minimum (remember the rule of thumb “less is more”). “Bullets” and short phrases are effective. Consider using no more than six illustrations (large graphs, flow charts, diagrams, and photographs). Keep captions and legends short and informative.
Get to Know the MWBWG: "Speed Networking" with Mentors and the Board
We are excited to offer a new “Speed Networking” event at this year's conference! We want students and early career professionals to have the opportunity to meet and connect with MWBWG members from a variety of backgrounds. Students and early career professionals who chose to sign up for this event will rotate through 10 minute meetings with mentors and members of the MWBWG board. This is a great opportunity for students and early career members to learn more about different career paths, as well as a chance for MWBWG members to get to know each other! We hope this format will help break the ice and encourage more interaction throughout the rest of the meeting.
If you are a MWBWG member interested in volunteering as a mentor, or a student/early career member interested in participating, please indicate so with your registration. Mentors can be from any career field.
This event will be held Wednesday, April 3rd.
Optional Workshops and Pre-conference Social
Advances in Radio-telemetry
Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024, Time TBD (early to mid-afternoon)
- Indicate interest with your meeting registration -
Limited to 35 participants, in-person only, no registration fee.
Note: As of 01/26/2024 this workshop registration is now full. Please indicate 'YES' on the registration form to be placed on a waiting list if space becomes available. Space will be limited to a first come first served basis.
Join this interactive field trip to explore two cutting edge advances in bat tracking technology - Wildlife Drones' aerial telemetry receiver and the tower-based Motus network. We share examples where these approaches have been used for bat research in the past, provide expert tips on how to use them to answer a variety of research questions, and explain how you can readily adopt them yourself. You’ll get to experience what the different types of data look like so you can consider how they may be applied to your own work. You will also gain insights on what it is like to operate different types of drones and conduct surveys using different techniques. So come along and join industry experts to see how it is now possible for you to collect more data, more often with less effort. We actively encourage people from a diverse range of backgrounds to attend, share their experiences and explore new ideas with others. This field trip is suitable for those who are curious to learn how to get started using drones for wildlife research and management, right through to experienced drone pilots who are interested in expanding their skillset with new sensors and techniques.
Ryan Cruz, Environmental Technology Consultant with Wildlife Drones, will lead the demonstration of the world's first UAV-based radio-tracking system. This technology has been used extensively for bat research, including right here in Ohio. It has helped researchers find their animals both on the wing and in their roosts with more accuracy and greater tag detection distances
Austin Waag will lead the demonstration on automated telemetry compatible with the Motus network. Austin is a bat biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey currently researching ecology, behavior, and disease dynamics of bats throughout western North America. Since 2017, Austin has been constructing Motus towers and analyzing data output from the collaborative Motus network to autonomously monitor bat movements.
Riverboat Cruise Social
Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024, Time TBA (in the evening after telemetry workshop)
- Indicate interest with your meeting registration -
Please join us for a scenic evening cruise on the Ohio River on Tuesday evening! This is a free event provided by our sponsor, The Lukuru Foundation. Dinner will be provided and there will be a cash bar. See southern Ohio and northern Kentucky while catching up with your friends and colleagues. Sign-up in advance is required!
Student Social
Wednesday, April 3rd, 2024, immediately following the poster reception
- Indicate interest with your meeting registration -
Calling all MWBWG students! Join your peers for a student-only social following the poster reception on Wednesday evening. This is an in-person only event. Details TBA.
Turning Sound into Discovery: Meet the New Song Meter Mini Bat 2 Family
Thursday, April 4th, 2024, 12:00 AM - 1:30 PM, Lunch provided by Wildlife Acoustics
- Click Here to Register -
[external site]
Limit 30 attendees, in-person only.
Please join Wildlife Acoustics for a lunch and learn workshop focused on the new Song Meter Mini Bat 2 and how it compares to the first generation of Song Meter Mini Bats.
Wildlife Acoustics is excited to showcase this new product at the 2024 Midwest Bat Working Group meeting. This is a great training opportunity for researchers just starting or already involved in using acoustics to monitor bats.
The workshop will cover details of the recorders and take a deep dive into the Configurator app. Please download and/or update the Song Meter Configurator app from Google Play or the Apple App Store to a phone or tablet you are bringing.
Wildlife Acoustics is the leading provider of bioacoustics monitoring technology, with 150,000+ acoustic and ultrasonic recorders deployed in over 90 countries.
Achievement and Student Awards
The following awards will be available this year. To learn more about these awards and to find out how to submit an application or nomination please visit our Awards and Scholarships page. The application deadline for the Dave Redell and John Whitaker awards is March 3rd, 2024.
- Dave Redell Lifetime Achievement Award
- John O. Whitaker, Jr. Travel Award - Undergraduate Student
- John O. Whitaker, Jr. Travel Award - Graduate Student
- Best Student Poster
- Best Student Presentation
We hope to see you soon!
