Professor
Joe Szewczak is a Professor at Cal Poly Humboldt in Arcata, CA. His prior research investigated the extraordinary physiological capabilities of bats and other small mammals, from cold torpor to the intense demands of flight and high altitude, and the physiological ecology of bats, the integrated effects of the environment upon the organism. He documented that hibernating bats can stop breathing for two and a half hours, and determined the mechanism by which they accomplish such a feat. Much of his current focus has sought to improve non-invasive recognition of bats and birds and this lead him to develop SonoBat and SonoBird software to analyze and interpret bat and bird vocalization. Dr. Szewczak has taught bat field courses and workshops for more than two decades throughout the country and abroad.
Dr. Joe Szewczak is a prominent name in bat research for a variety of studies, but holds the greatest distinction as the creator of SonoBat. SonoBat, a system to analyze full-spectrum ultrasound recordings for identifying species of bat by their echolocation, and the only system that uses the the full information content of full-spectrum data to achieve the most reliable results in this difficult endeavor. Joe developed it as an alternative to the more problematic use of mist nests during his work on bats in the Eastern Sierra in the 1990s. His acoustic monitoring studies have also become invaluable for studying wind energy impacts on bats and other nocturnal organisms. Joe’s research on echolocation and vocalization doesn’t stop with bats. He has also published on vocal individuality of birds, including the elusive Yosemite great gray owl. Other research of Joe’s focuses on comparative physiology and physiological ecology. Joe has published extensively on the physiology and chemistry of gas exchange and metabolic capacity in aerial animals. These studies have demonstrated how organisms evolved to interact with the ambient environment during flight, torpor, and at high altitudes. Joe and other collaborators have recently completed a study of food webs and trophic levels of bats and birds in Yosemite.
