Kate Jones on bats and biodiversity

Kate Jones is Professor of Ecology and Biodiversity at UCL and the Institute of Zoology. An expert in evolution and extinction, her special interest is in bat research and conservation.

Bats make up one in five of all mammal species on Earth, from the miniscule bumblebee bat to the enormous megabat.

As well as controlling harmful insects bats also pollinate a large variety of crops, from bananas to blue agave plants that are used to make tequila.

Kate has pioneered ground-breaking technologies that allow the public to monitor bats, including the citizen science website Bat Detective.

This work led her to investigate human infectious diseases, including those spread through animals. Together with a global team of researchers, they drew up a map of global hotspots to try and predict where the next 'zoonotic' disease will emerge.

Producer: Michelle Martin.