Gareth Jones' Lab
Gareth Jones' Lab conducts research on ecology, conservation biology and animal behaviour, with a particular focus on bats. Gareth has published around 300 scientific papers, and worked on bats in five continents. His work ranges from acoustics, to molecular ecology and tracking animal movements. He led the discovery that Europe's commonest bats (pipistrelles) comprise two species that use different echolocation calls.
Visit Gareth Jones' LabOldest bat
As reported in The Journals of Gerontology: Series A on 1 November 2005, a Brandt's bat (Myotis brandtii) discovered in a cave in the Biryusa region of Siberia in Russia was aged to be at least 41 years old, having been banded in 1964. The range of this species covers most of Europe as well as certain pockets of Asia. Its small size – only weighing 5–7 g (0.1–02 oz) – and long lifespan defy the conventional pattern that larger mammals live long and smaller mammals die young. According to its longevity quotient – a theoretical lifespan estimate calculated on mammalian body size – this specimen lived 9.8 times longer than would be expected.