Upcoming Events and News

We are currently seeking presenters for the upcoming 2024 meeting of the Tennessee Bat Working Group. Registration is also open!! Here are the details:

Registration: Fill out the google form at this link . 

Pre-meeting Social:  November 21, 7:00 - 9:00 PM Central Time

TailGate Brewery (210 Stones River Mall Blvd, Murfreesboro) 

Bundle up because we may be hanging on their patio!

Meeting Date: November 22, 2024 

Meeting Time: ~9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Central Time (Exact agenda TBD)

Location:  UT Extension Office, 315 John R Rice Blvd, Murfreesboro, TN

Hotel Suggestion: There are many hotels around the venue including the Holiday Inn (1453 Silohill Lane, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 37129)

Cost: Registration cost is $10 for professionals and free for the public and students. 

Abstract Submission Guidelines:

A 250-word abstract with a short introduction to project, hypothesis, brief methods, results and conclusions. The abstract could take a different format if not a research project. Be sure to include author affiliations. Indicate with an asterisk after the name (*) of any student authors. Examples of previous abstracts are at the end of the agendas hosted on our website (https://www.tnbwg.org/about-us/annual-meetings )

Please send your abstracts to: acable5@vols.utk.edu

Abstract submission deadline: EXTENDED TO NOVEMBER 13, 2024

Oral Presentations:

Oral presentations could be results from research, monitoring, rehab, conservation, regulatory, or management activities, overviews of bat conservation issues or topics in the state or other areas. We are open to creative ideas!

• Presentations will be limited to 15 minutes (~13 minutes for the presentation and 2 minutes for questions)

• PowerPoint presentation or another format (reach out to us if you plan to use something other than PowerPoint)

Poster Presentations:

Please encourage undergraduate students, graduate students, and your colleagues to consider giving a poster presentation. The TNBWG meeting is a great opportunity for students, professionals, and anyone interested in bats to share their research in a laid-back atmosphere. If you are a student with preliminary results or even a draft study plan, please consider presenting. We will provide poster stands or tape to hang posters.

Poster guidelines:

Follow the guidelines below for preparing posters

● Overall size of the poster should be no larger than 36 x 48 inches
● Should be readable from a distance of 2 m
● Title should be capitalized with lettering in 72-point font
● Authors and affiliations should be in upper- and lower-case in 42-point font
● Text lettering should be at least 18-point font
● Most posters should include the following sections: Abstract, Introduction,
Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion, Conclusions, Literature Cited. Other headings could be used if more appropriate.
● Keep written text to a minimum. “Bullets” and short phrases are most effective

Awards: The Tennessee Bat Working Group will award $100 to the best student oral presentation and $100 to the best student poster presentation. These awards make great lines on resumes! Presentations will be graded based on organization, delivery, visual aids, and content. 

BOARD MEMBER NOMINATIONS: We will be electing 2 board members to the TNBWG board this year. Board members contribute to annual meeting and bat blitz planning as well as support educational and other endeavors of the bat working group.

 Voting will be online, and the form will be sent out during the annual meeting. Members will vote during the lunch break. Fill out your nomination by this form ( https://forms.gle/JxHYFULbMrNUBxVv9 ) by Nov 13. The nomination form is anonymous and you can nominate yourself. Nominees will be asked to prepare a bio sketch paragraph that will be sent out to the membership before voting at the annual meeting. We will also accept nominations from the floor at the meeting before voting.

• Not on our email list to receive announcements? Email tennbwg@gmail.com to be added!