Mariana Munoz-Romo at BU

Mariana Muñoz-Romo, M. Sc.

Research Interests. I am interested in social behavior of bats, particularly social phenomena related to processes of mate choice and sexual selection, as well as factors affecting them. I am also interested in mating systems, and the structure of animal societies in relation to sexual behavior, and factors that determine this structure. I am currently studying the importance of chemical signals in the mating strategies of bats. For my Ph. D., I am studying the importance of chemical cues in the mating strategies of males of the long-nosed bat, Leptonycteris curasoae, under the supervision of Dr. Thomas H. Kunz at BU.

Research Experience. I have worked as a research assistant on a number of bat research projects. In 1989, during my first year of undergraduate studies at Universidad de Los Andes (Mérida, Venezuela), I assisted on a project investigating the ecological relationship between two species of nectar-pollinivorous bats (Glossophaga longirostris and Leptonycteris curasoae) and the columnar cacti species in a Venezuelan arid region. Following this, I participated in a project studying comparative energetics of bats to determine the physiological adaptations of several species from Andean forest ecosystems.

I spent several years helping in a project exploring the natural history of Venezuelan insectivorous bats focusing on distribution, diet, and other basic biological traits. For my undergraduate thesis of Licenciatura*, I studied the relationship between diet and morphology in 15 species of insectivorous bats from two genera (Molossus and Eumops) of the family Molossidae.

*"Licenciatura" is a degree granted in many Latin American universities that requires an additional full year of courses and a research thesis after completing a bachelor’s degree.

I also volunteered for three years as Curator Assistant at the Museum of Vertebrates (Section of Birds & Mammals) of Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela.

In 2003, with support of Programa de Postgrados Integrados en Ecología (FONACIT), I completed my master dissertation work (at Universidad Simón Bolívar, Caracas, Venezuela) on behavior and social structure in the big fruit-eating bat (Artibeus lituratus), under the supervision of Dr. Emilio A. Herrera. I graduated in 2003, and one year later, I also graduated as Specialist in Wildlife Management at Universidad de Los Llanos (Guanare, Venezuela). I am aggregate professor at Universidad de Los Andes (Mérida, Venezuela) since 2000 working at Laboratorio de Zoología Aplicada. I am currently under permission (leave-of absence) to work towards my Ph. D. at Boston University.

Curriculum vitae...
Remembering Maricela Sosa...
Links...