Dr Annabel Dorrestein
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow, the Bat Lab for Neuro-Ecology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University; Lab of Animal Ecology, the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University
- Topic: Episodic-like memory of the Christmas Island flying-fox (Pteropus natalis)
- Research Umbrellas: Christmas Island Flying-Fox (CIFF) Research Program
- Contact: Annabel Dorrestein
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Bio
I have a strong interest for mammalian behavioural ecology, and endangered species ecology and conservation. In 2014 I finished my Bachelor of Science in Biology with Honours at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. During my BSc I had already developed a passion for conservation by studying conservation and ecophysiology in South Africa for a semester and conducting a small research project on the impacts of ecotourism on vertebrates in the tropical rainforest of Peru. During my Masters of Science in Ecology and Natural Resource Management, I further developed this interest by conducting research in Suriname on tropical forest regeneration and by doing an internship with WWF. I completed my MSc degree Cum Laude with a project on the impacts of the invasive yellow crazy ants on the roosting behaviour of the Christmas Island flying-fox. Following this I spent several months working on several projects, including work with small mammals on Kangaroo Island, and with bats in the Netherlands and Panama. My PhD at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment focussed on the social organisation of the Christmas Island flying-fox. Using GPS and radio tracking, behavioural observations, and census to assess roosting, foraging and movement ecology. Following my PhD, I worked as a biodiversity research officer at DPIE NSW, as a research assistant working with grey-headed flying-foxes, and as a professional ecologist at a consultancy, further deepening my ecological knowledge of Australia, before starting my postdoctoral position at Tel-Aviv University. I also deeply enjoy dedicating significant time to various impactful projects, including contributions to the Pacific Bat Conservation Network, the Christmas Island flying-fox Advisory Panel, and training initiatives in Samoa, aimed at enhancing flying-fox surveys. Research One of the most debated animal cognitive skills is episodic memory - the ability to use the brain to ‘time travel’. Researchers have defined a quantifiable equivalent of episodic memory (termed episodic-like memory) according to which, the animal has to show an ability to remember what, where and when an event occurred. Fruit bats would benefit greatly from such an ability, as they could track long-term fruit phenology and return to rewarding trees at the right time. To do so, individuals must remember ‘when’ and ‘where’ a specific fruit (i.e., ‘what’) is ripe. Further, the ability to track foraging resources time in space could aid individual and species survival. While previously near impossible, with the development with exciting new technology, studying long-term, large- scale spatio-temporal-contextual memory in wild fruit bats is becoming increasingly achievable. In the current study, I propose to combine state-of-the-art technology with an ideal study system to provide exciting new insights into episodic-like memory in wild bats: Pteropus natalis, a fruit bat endemic to Christmas Island. |
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Publications
Luke R Lloyd-Jones, Mark V Bravington, Kyle N Armstrong, Emma Lawrence, Pierre Feutry, Christopher M Todd, Annabel Dorrestein, Justin A Welbergen, John M Martin, Karrie Rose, Jane Hall, David N Phalen, Isabel Peters, Shane M Baylis, Nicholas A Macgregor, David A Westcott (2023) Close-kin mark-recapture informs critically endangered terrestrial mammal status. Scientific Reports, 13, 12512
Pulscher, L. A., Peel, A. J., Rose, K., Welbergen, J. A., Baker, M. L., Boyd V., Low-Choy S., Edson D., Todd, C., Dorrestein A., Hall, J., Todd S., Broder C. C., Yan, L., Xu, K., Peck, G. R. & Phalen, D. N. (2022) Serological evidence of a pararubulavirus and a betacoronavirus in the geographically isolated Christmas Island flying-fox (Pteropus natalis). Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, doi: 10.1111/tbed.14579
Todd, C.M., Dorrestein, A., Pulscher, L.A. & Welbergen, J.A. 2021. Pteropus melanotus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T18740A22082634. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T18740A22082634.en
Dorrestein, A., Todd, C., Westcott, D., Martin, J. & Welbergen, J. A. (2019) Impacts of an invasive ant species on roosting behaviour of an island endemic flying-fox. Biotropica, 51(1): 75-83
Walker, M.J., Dorrestein A., Camacho J., Meckler L.A. Silas K.A., Hiller T., Haelewater D. (2018) A tripartite study of hyperparastic fungi associated with ectoparasitic flies on bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) in a neotropical cloud forest in Panama. Parasite, 25.
Media
Arizona Game and Fish - Studying the Foraging Behaviour of Tucson Bats
ABC podcast 'What the Duck?!' - Feeling crabby
ABC podcast 'Off Track' - Nipple cripples and other nibbles
ABC - Christmas Island robber crab suspected of nicking expensive camera in late-night burglary
BBC - Christmas Island: 'A giant robber crab stole my camera'
Der Spiegel - Riesenkrebs bestiehlt Forscherin
NOS radio 1 FOCUS - Wat voor vrienden heeft de vleerhond?
NOS - Enorme krab rooft peperdure camera Nederlandse onderzoekster
SBS German - The world's strongest crab is also a thief
Grants and awards
2023 Harry Bloomfield Postdoctoral Matching Scholarship
2022 Best student presentation, Australasian Bat Society Conference Brisbane
2020 Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment Grant
2020 Bat Conservation International Student Research Scholarship
2020 Verne and Marion Read Bat Conservation Award
2019 Australasian Bat Society conference travel grant
2019 Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment Grant
2019 Second price 3MT competition at Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment
2019 18th IBRC Open Travel Grant
2019 Australasian Bat Society Grant
2018 Wettenhall Environment Trust Small Environmental Grants Scheme
2018 Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment Grant
2018 Kathmandu sponsoring
Luke R Lloyd-Jones, Mark V Bravington, Kyle N Armstrong, Emma Lawrence, Pierre Feutry, Christopher M Todd, Annabel Dorrestein, Justin A Welbergen, John M Martin, Karrie Rose, Jane Hall, David N Phalen, Isabel Peters, Shane M Baylis, Nicholas A Macgregor, David A Westcott (2023) Close-kin mark-recapture informs critically endangered terrestrial mammal status. Scientific Reports, 13, 12512
Pulscher, L. A., Peel, A. J., Rose, K., Welbergen, J. A., Baker, M. L., Boyd V., Low-Choy S., Edson D., Todd, C., Dorrestein A., Hall, J., Todd S., Broder C. C., Yan, L., Xu, K., Peck, G. R. & Phalen, D. N. (2022) Serological evidence of a pararubulavirus and a betacoronavirus in the geographically isolated Christmas Island flying-fox (Pteropus natalis). Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, doi: 10.1111/tbed.14579
Todd, C.M., Dorrestein, A., Pulscher, L.A. & Welbergen, J.A. 2021. Pteropus melanotus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T18740A22082634. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T18740A22082634.en
Dorrestein, A., Todd, C., Westcott, D., Martin, J. & Welbergen, J. A. (2019) Impacts of an invasive ant species on roosting behaviour of an island endemic flying-fox. Biotropica, 51(1): 75-83
Walker, M.J., Dorrestein A., Camacho J., Meckler L.A. Silas K.A., Hiller T., Haelewater D. (2018) A tripartite study of hyperparastic fungi associated with ectoparasitic flies on bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) in a neotropical cloud forest in Panama. Parasite, 25.
Media
Arizona Game and Fish - Studying the Foraging Behaviour of Tucson Bats
ABC podcast 'What the Duck?!' - Feeling crabby
ABC podcast 'Off Track' - Nipple cripples and other nibbles
ABC - Christmas Island robber crab suspected of nicking expensive camera in late-night burglary
BBC - Christmas Island: 'A giant robber crab stole my camera'
Der Spiegel - Riesenkrebs bestiehlt Forscherin
NOS radio 1 FOCUS - Wat voor vrienden heeft de vleerhond?
NOS - Enorme krab rooft peperdure camera Nederlandse onderzoekster
SBS German - The world's strongest crab is also a thief
Grants and awards
2023 Harry Bloomfield Postdoctoral Matching Scholarship
2022 Best student presentation, Australasian Bat Society Conference Brisbane
2020 Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment Grant
2020 Bat Conservation International Student Research Scholarship
2020 Verne and Marion Read Bat Conservation Award
2019 Australasian Bat Society conference travel grant
2019 Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment Grant
2019 Second price 3MT competition at Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment
2019 18th IBRC Open Travel Grant
2019 Australasian Bat Society Grant
2018 Wettenhall Environment Trust Small Environmental Grants Scheme
2018 Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment Grant
2018 Kathmandu sponsoring
