I was proud to be a part of the 2018 Introduction of the Geology and Ecology of the Bahamas course. During the trip to San Salvador, we saw many great sites. I studied and taught my fellow peers about Bats on the island. My favorite site was lighthouse cave, a cave on the Northeast side of the island, near a lighthouse. It was a thrilling experience. I was able to see magnificent speleothems, stalagmites, and stalactites, and dive under water in the cave going from room to room (as the tide was coming in). We saw 2 bats while in lighthouse cave. They were Erophylla bats (Brown Flower Bats). Other caves I visited were Owl’s hole, Dripping rock, and Altar Cave. In dripping rock I saw great examples of Cave Bacon, and Soda straws, which are more speleothems. In Altar cave, I was able to see around 20 Erophylla Bats, hanging on the tall dome-shaped ceilings. Towards the back of the cave, I went to the low hanging ceiling, and was able to see 2 Natalus Bats (Bahamian Funnel Eared Bat). The main difference between the two bats I’ve mentioned are Erophylla stay on High Dome-shaped ceilings, while Natalus Bats hang on low flat cilings in the cave. Erophylla eat nectar and seeds from flowers, and Naltalus bats eat insects—they can eat hundreds of mosquitoes in one night. Naltaus bats only occur at the Bahamas, and their conservation is very important. One good thing about The Bahamas’ bats is that they don’t suffer from white nose syndrome, like they do in the U.S. The public needs to continue to be informed about the importance of Bats, and many other species as well. One thing that we as a group found unusual is something we saw in Alter cave. We found hermit crabs in the cave, and one was really big. Perhaps more research should be done on the caves in San Salvador to find out more about the organisms that reside there.
Cody Smith
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