Yoalli Zúñiga Solis
In Neotropical cities, urban expansion has fragmented ecosystems and drastically reduced green spaces, forcing some species to adapt to human-dominated environments. In San Francisco de Campeche, Mexico, several bat species have found shelter in urban structures such as roofs, walls, bridges, pipes, and other built environments. Despite the essential ecological services they provide—such as insect control, pollination, and seed dispersal—their presence still generates fear, mistrust, and actions that threaten their survival in urban settings.
Capture of a bat for identification at a potential urban roost in San Francisco de Campeche. © Alba Hortencia Cortés Ibarra.
This project aims to understand how microclimatic conditions and structural complexity influence the use of urban diurnal roosts by bats. It will also explore the perceptions, emotions, and attitudes of people who share space with these mammals. To achieve this, various roost structures will be characterised, and data on bat species will be collected through visual and acoustic records, as well as geospatial mapping. In parallel, surveys and interviews will be conducted across different sectors of the city to identify the sociocultural factors that shape attitudes of acceptance, rejection, or indifference towards bats.
The educational and outreach component will be key. Through community talks, night walks, school workshops, and digital content shared via the “Murciélagos de Campeche” page (https://www.facebook.com/people/Murci%C3%A9lagos-de-Campeche/61566938555769/), the project will promote a more informed, empathetic, and evidence-based perspective on bats, aiming to dispel negative myths and strengthen their ecological and cultural value.
Beyond generating new knowledge about urban roost ecology and human-bat coexistence, one of the project’s core commitments is to collaborate with local governmental, academic, and community institutions. The findings will be actively shared with these stakeholders to support the development and implementation of conservation and management strategies tailored to the social and ecological context of Campeche.
This initiative is expected to benefit the 24 bat species with potential distribution in the city—including Mimon cozumelae and Micronycteris schmidtorum, both considered nationally threatened in Mexico—and help lay the groundwork for a more respectful, informed, and sustainable relationship between bats and the urban human population.
Header image: Release of a rehabilitated urban bat, originally reported by a local resident of San Francisco de Campeche. © Alba Hortencia Cortés Ibarra.