This past year, PEEC graduate student Heather Jinco achieved significant milestones in her research on the endangered Mariana Fruit Bat. In Fall 2025, Heather was awarded the FA25 Graduate College Dissertation Travel Grant, which provides funding to support travel and related expenses essential for doctoral dissertation research. This grant enabled her to continue her fieldwork this summer in the Marianas, advancing her study of the species’ roosting ecology.
Building on this momentum, Heather won the Proposal Talk Award at the 2026 NRES Research Symposium this spring. Her presentation, titled “Roosting Ecology and Post-Disturbance Dynamics of Pteropus mariannus in the Mariana Islands,” highlighted the ongoing research funded by the Dissertation Travel Grant.
Heather’s research focuses on how the Mariana Fruit Bat (Pteropus mariannus), an endangered species endemic to the Marianas Archipelago, responds to habitat disturbances caused by extreme weather events such as typhoons. Following the impact of Super Typhoon Sinlaku, her study examines how bats redistribute, form temporary clusters, and recover in a landscape altered by canopy damage and reduced food availability. Using field surveys, remote sensing, and spatial analyses, Heather’s work aims to identify the drivers of bat distribution and provide critical insights for conservation and management as extreme weather events become more frequent.
Congratulations to Heather on a successful year of research and recognition in her program!