This pop-up book was designed for K-4 students to introduce them to remote sensing. By following Echo's journey through Arizona they become more familiar with map use and remote sensing images. After completing this book, children ages 5-6 should be able to distinguish between what a satellite sees and what Echo sees, be able to identify patterns and color in the satellite image and compare these to what Echo sees, and begin to extend the concept that texture is not only how something feels but is also how something looks. Older children (ages 7-9) should begin to describe what the satellite is seeing by just looking at the satellite view and they should also be able to describe the location of patterns and colors (i.e., square patterns of irrigated crops are near rivers and green forests are on top of mountains) and make more elaborate observations about texture in the satellite images. A set of activities reinforce the four basic themes or concepts fundamental to interpreting satellite imagery: perspective, shape and pattern, color, and texture.

Information about the myths/misconceptions that commonly abound concerning bats which is useful for developing an appreciation of this misunderstood mammal.

This video segment from the Nevada Department of Wildlife looks at various species of bats and how they impact the environment.

This video segment from Kentucky Life explores one of the endangered habitats of Indiana bats and describes the benefits of bats to humans.

On this site teachers can access an extensive selection of curricular materials, fact sheets and activities for kids, a glossary, and links to other educational programs and sites. Other materials include maps and publications, an image gallery, and links to the park's newsletter.

This site provides information and activities about the biology of caves, how caves and stalactites form, how bats and birds differ, and more. The site is designed for students planning to visit Round Spring Caverns, one of more than 300 caves identified in the Ozark National Scenic River ways of southeast Missouri.

In the Tropical edition of the Natural Inquirer you will learn about different types of plants and animals. The tropics are the home of a variety of biomes, or regions with different kinds of vegetation and other life. Tropical biomes are largely defined by the amount of rainfall they get. In the tropics, you might find rain forests, dry forests, shrub lands, tropical plains called savannahs, and deserts. Scientists working in the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, or IITF, conducted the research in this issue. We hope you enjoy your journey to the tropics!

Younger students can follow Echo the Bat as he travels through Arizona on an adventure to his winter hibernaculum. They will also learn how bats use echolocation to catch insects, then about remote sensing by satellites and the use of satellite imagery.

Many emerging RNA viruses of public health concern have recently been detected in bats. However, the dynamics of these viruses in natural bat colonies is presently unknown. Consequently, prediction of the spread of these viruses and the establishment of appropriate control measures are hindered by a lack of information. To this aim, we collected epidemiological, virological and ecological data during a twelve-year longitudinal study in two colonies of insectivorous bats (Myotis myotis) located in Spain and infected by the most common bat lyssavirus found in Europe, the European bat lyssavirus subtype 1 (EBLV-1). This active survey demonstrates that cyclic lyssavirus infections occurred with periodic oscillations in the number of susceptible, immune and infected bats. Persistence of immunity for more than one year was detected in some individuals. These data were further used to feed models to analyze the temporal dynamics of EBLV-1 and the survival rate of bats. According to these models, the infection is characterized by a predicted low basic reproductive rate (R0= 1.706) and a short infectious period (D = 5.1 days). In contrast to observations in most non-flying animals infected with rabies, the survival model shows no variation in mortality after EBLV-1 infection of M. myotis. These findings have considerable public health implications in terms of management of colonies where lyssavirus-positive bats have been recorded and confirm the potential risk of rabies transmission to humans. A greater understanding of the dynamics of lyssavirus in bat colonies also provides a model to study how bats contribute to the maintenance and transmission of other viruses of public health concern.