Why are there so many bat species,
and how do they
coexist in a
changing world?

Iroro Tanshi, PhD

Filling Gaps in Occurrence

I target hyperdiverse
understudied,
undisturbed sites in the
tropics to fill knowledge
gaps in bat species
occurrence and
distribution.

Drivers of Diversity Patterns

I work to establish what
factors drive species
diversity patterns across
scales from site to
biomes, under natural and
anthropogenic conditions.

Community Assembly

I use functional traits to
understand the
mechanistic processes that
drive assembly structure of
local communities.

Research

My research addresses two main questions


  • What processes drive bat assembly structure along natural and anthropogenic gradients?
  • What mechanisms drive dietary resource partitioning in Paleotropical insectivorous bat assemblages?

Book Chapters

Frick, W., ..., I. Tanshi, ... (2023). Creating a culture of evidence use, pp 333-363, in Transforming Conservation. A Practical
Guide to Evidence and Decision Making. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK. https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0321.11


Tanshi, I., and T. Kingston. (2021). Introduction and implementation of harp traps signal a new era in bat research. Pp.
255–270, in 50 Years of Bat Research, Foundations and New Frontiers (B. K. Lim, M. B. Fenton, R. M. Brigham, et. al., eds.).
Springer, Cham, xiii + 374 pp.


Mildenstein, T., Tanshi, I. and Racey, P. (2016). Direct Exploitation of bats for Bushmeat and Medicine. In Kingston, T and
Voigt, M. (eds), Bats in the Anthropocene. Springer.

Functional traits

Diet and new species

Collections and curation

Natural History Collections

My research contributes to, mobilizes, and relies on natural history collections
(NHCs) archived at institutions around the world.

I use 3D imaging
techniques such as
microCT scanning to
study bat diet,
functional traits, and
ecomorphology.

I combine molecular
techniques and
cranio-dental traits to
study diet and
describe species
new to science.

Over the last decade,
I have contributed to,
curated, and
managed museum
specimens in Nigeria,
Europe, and the USA.

Global South NHCs

Science Infrastructure & Networks

I collaborate across multiple global and regional networks to strengthen research infrastructure globally,
with a special focus on understudied areas such as West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea Forests.

Engaged Scholarship

I founded a nonprofit, SMACON, through which I partner with local people to protect the Endangered Short-tailed
Roundleaf bat in Nigeria, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. I work with the
SMACON team to coordinate projects that
have received prestigious international recognition, notably
Pritzker, Whitley, and Future for Nature awards

Wildfire prevention

Conservation Education

Cave Bat Protection

Conservation Policy

Social

itanshi(at)uw(dot)edu

Email

Get in touch


(123) 456-7890

Phone

The majestic Pico Basille (3,000 m above sea level). Photo taken from a boat off Moraka bay, Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea.