Sam Skalak - 'batty' for research

Sam Skalak took only three showers all summer. He also lived in a tent, had no hot food, little sleep and went days without seeing another person.

The Christopher Newport University junior did it all for bats - and the opportunity for an incredible learning experience that will further his career and help the state of Nevada.

Skalak was one of several students from CNU's Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Science who worked May through August 2006 on research projects with CNU's Dr. Rick Sherwin and another professor in a remote area near Lovelock, Nev.

For his research, Skalak studied the roosting habits of Townsend's Big-Eared Bats and collected gland samples from other bats to identify environmental pressures and to identify the bats by species and area.

He also worked with other students on projects that included foraging, survey techniques and insect and vegetation surveys.

"It was a great, great learning experience," Skalak said. "It's encompassed everything I could have imagined in the scientific process."

Skalak found that the bats, which were thought to roost primarily in caves and abandoned mines, also used surface features, such as rocks and cliff faces. Based on his findings, the Nevada Department of Wildlife's management plans for this "at risk" species will now include these features surrounding the mines. His research was part of Dr. Sherwin's larger studies on the population ecology and conservation of this and other species of bats.

As a sophomore, Skalak worked in New Mexico with Dr. Sherwin and the U.S. Geological Survey researching the roosting and foraging habits of endangered long-nosed bats. Skalak and other CNU students are preparing to continue the research on Townsend's Big-Eared Bats in Nevada in summer 2007.

"It was really a foundation, a step that should be a part of everyone's experience who wants to go into research," said Skalak, who plans to go on to graduate school and eventually develop management models, such as those he's contributing to for the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

"I've really advanced my career as a tech and intern with all of these agencies that I would like to work for," Skalak said. "CNU's small size and the biology department's strong, close-knit sense of community helps me do well and get to know those I work with. If I hadn't been at CNU, I would not have had these experiences."