fieldnotes

From the Mountains of Cameroon to the Labs of Chicago

Graduate student travels to Field Museum to learn genetic analysis

By Katie Brown

two people taking a wing punch sample from a live bat

Franck Meyo and Amanda Grunwald near Akono II, Cameroon taking a wing punch sample from a live bat (later released) for molecular analyses.

Photo: Courtney Volk

During her first field visit to Cameroon’s Mbam Minkom Massif region, Amanda Grunwald’s team identified a bat species new to science called Pseudoromicia mbamminkom. Grunwald, a graduate student at Portland State University, was determined to learn more. Preliminary surveys indicated more work was needed in this mountainous region. “We did not even come close to covering the diversity in the area,” Grunwald says.

When she returned to Oregon, Grunwald began raising funds to conduct a biodiversity survey, intending to involve as many Cameroonian students as possible in her Ph.D. research. After connecting with Cameroon’s top bat biologist—Eric Moise Bakwo Fils, Ph.D.—she was introduced to Franck Meyo, who was equally enthusiastic about bats. Meyo had just completed his master’s degree at the University of Douala and is now working towards his doctorate at the same institution.

In November 2023, Meyo and Grunwald traveled to Chicago’s Field Museum to perform genetic analysis on the samples they collected in Cameroon.

After raising funds, the team returned to Cameroon to conduct a biodiversity survey of the area. They went to the Congo Basin Institute, located in Cameroon’s capital city of Yaoundé, to plan and then the research team traveled into the field in a mountainous area in central Cameroon. The group camped for six weeks and conducted fieldwork along two transects, using mist nets and harp traps, comparing sites on and near the mountain to lowlands distant from the mountain.

When the fieldwork wrapped, molecular analysis followed. In Cameroon, conducting such analysis can be challenging due to a lack of access to the necessary laboratory technology and funding to test field samples onsite or send tissues overseas for genetic testing. Aware of the equity issues surrounding molecular work, Grunwald set out to ensure Meyo could complete the molecular work associated with their field studies, leveraging her access to these resources to extend them to Meyo’s work.

Franck Meyo posing in front of an exhibit showcasing Cameroonian history at the Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago, USA).

Photo: Amanda Grunwald

The journey of a dedicated scientist

The plan was to conduct this molecular analysis at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, and Grunwald raised funds for Meyo’s travel expenses. She contacted BCI’s Director of Endangered Species Interventions, Jon Flanders, Ph.D., who fully supported Grunwald’s idea and arranged for BCI to assist with Meyo’s travel expenses.

“Supporting researchers like Franck is vital; their expertise and lived experience are indispensable for the conservation of Cameroon’s bats,” Grunwald says.

The waiting game began after Grunwald secured additional funding from the Field Museum to cover lab expenses. Meyo waited nearly a year to receive his visa to travel to the United States. Staying optimistic, Meyo was not deterred by the lengthy wait, saying it was “exciting because it gives us the time to collect more samples.”

In November 2023, Meyo and Grunwald reunited in Chicago to conduct molecular analyses in the Pritzker Lab at the Field Museum. As Meyo continues his doctoral work, his passion for bats grows. “This is maybe the start of a long story,” he says.

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