Research Training Program

Alex Borissenko
Moscow State University
Moscow, RUSSIA

Don Wilson, Ph.D.
Project Advisor
Department of Vertebrate Zoology
Division of Mammals

"Through participation in the RTP I learned more about my favorite subjects, bats. I also established new contacts and gained experience in the methods used in modern systematic studies."

Morphology of Female Reproductive Tracts in Vespertilionoid Bats; with Comments on its Functional and Phylogenetic Implications

This project involved the dissection of 35 specimens (Leurales) of Vespertilionoid bats from 3 families, 10 genera, and 15 species. Comparative observations were made on the reproductive tracts and measurements were taken of them. Drawings and photographs were also made. The data were used to define taxonomically significant characters (a total of 12) and their status in different species. The resulting cladograms were compared with currently accepted taxonomic arrangements of these bats and showed considerable concordance with the latter. Besides that, extensive literature was gathered on reproductive biology and morphology of bats (mainly the considered group). This work will be continued at Moscow University, with local species of this group on a more refined level (histology) and will be presented as a master's thesis in which there are plans to find connections between taxonomic history, reproductive biology and reproductive morphology of these bats.

This research was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Program.