News
Turkey
Boğaziçi University, Istanbul
Key Personnel
Dr. Raşit Bilgin, Bat Evolutionary Biologist
Through the ‘Bats & Coronaviruses’ project, Dr. Rasit Bilgin and his team from Boğaziçi University collaborate with WAB-Net partners to characterize the diversity of bats and bat-borne coronaviruses (CoVs) in Turkey, and test key hypotheses about bat-borne zoonotic virus emergence risk within Western Asia. As part of this project, Dr. Bilgin and his team have received training in best practices for bat sampling and biosafety (for additional details, see our discussion of ‘Field Training’ here), and are actively capturing bats and collecting non-lethal diagnostic samples at multiple sites in Turkey. As an evolutionary bat biologist, Dr. Bilgin serves as an invaluable member of WAB-Net, and is able to leverage his expertise on bats to improve field sampling efforts and our understanding of bat species native to Turkey.
Bats of Turkey: (40 species)
Emballonuridae
- Taphozous nudiventris (LC)
Miniopteridae
- Miniopterus pallidus (NE)
- Miniopterus schreibersii (NT)
Molossidae
- Tadarida teniotis (LC)
Pteropodidae
- Rousettus aegyptiacus (LC)
Rhinolophidae
- Rhinolophus blasii (LC)
- Rhinolophus euryale (LC)
- Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (LC)
- Rhinolophus hipposideros (LC)
- Rhinolophus mehelyi (VU)
Vespertilionidae
- Barbastella leucomelas (LC)
- Eptesicus bottae (LC)
- Eptesicus nilssonii (LC)
- Eptesicus serotinus (LC)
- Hypsugo savii (LC)
- Myotis aurascens (LC)
- Myotis bechsteinii (NT)
- Myotis blythii (LC)
- Myotis brandtii (LC)
- Myotis capaccinii (VU)
- Myotis daubentonii (LC)
- Myotis emarginatus (LC)
- Myotis hoveli (NE)
- Myotis myotis (LC)
- Myotis mystacinus (LC)
- Myotis nattereri (LC)
- Myotis nipalensis (LC)
- Nyctalus lasiopterus (LC)
- Nyctalus leisleri (LC)
- Nyctalus noctula (LC)
- Otonycteris hemprichii (LC)
- Pipistrellus kuhlii (LC)
- Pipistrellus nathusii (LC)
- Pipistrellus pipistrellus (LC)
- Pipistrellus pygmaeus (LC)
- Plecotus auritus (LC)
- Plecotus austriacus (LC)
- Plecotus kolombatovici (LC)
- Plecotus macrobullaris (LC)
- Vespertilio murinus (LC)
Species occurrence & conservation status based on IUCN Red List, and updated by Dr. Rasit Bilgin.
