The March 17 session of the 2016 Royal Tyrrell Museum’s Speaker Series is a presentation by Dr. Gregg Gunnell from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina entitled “Fossils of the Night – The History of Bats Through Time.”
    Bats represent one in every five species of mammals in the world — there are at least 1,300 living species of bats. Not only are bats diverse, but they can be remarkably abundant with some species living in colonies that number in the millions of individuals. Bats are also geographically widespread. They are known from all continents except Antarctica. The fossil record of bats is both spectacular and disappointing. Spectacular in that some fossil bat species are known from beautifully preserved skeletons; disappointing because only a small percentage of what was almost certainly a very large radiation is preserved in the fossil record. Over 100 fossil bat species have been described known only as fossils. If fossil representatives of living genera and species are included, then that number soars to nearly 600 species known as fossils.
    This talk explores the origins of bats taxonomically, temporally, and geographically. Some of the oldest bats are also among the best known, often being represented by nearly complete skeletons; however, all of these early archaic forms do not belong to any living bat group. It is nearly five- million years after the first bats appear that the first species representing crown group bat families can be recognized. Climate change, in conjunction with changes in food resource distribution and abundance, will be explored as possible explanations for the rapid Palaeogene diversification and diffusion of bats across the globe.
    The Royal Tyrrell Museum’s Speaker Series talks are free and open to the public. The series is held every Thursday until April 28, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. in the Museum auditorium. Past presentations are also available on the Museum’s YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/RoyalTyrrellMuseum. For more information, visit tyrrellmuseum.com.

The Board of Directors of Community Futures Big Country is pleased to announce that Brock Harrington joined the organization as General Manager on March 1, 2016.
    Brock’s experience, knowledge and familiarity with the community are a great match for the work, staff, and funding partners of Community Futures Big Country. He is looking forward to working with businesses, clients and stakeholders in the region to enhance economic growth in the area.
    Brock has more than 28 years of sales and marketing and management experience including 18 years of employment in the USA. He was the president of Scotia Machinery in Indianapolis for more than 10 years. He has been an entrepreneur his entire life and is looking forward to helping people in the area benefit from his experience.
    To move toward our Vision 2020, Community Futures Big Country will complete the following prioritized Strategic Goals during the upcoming operating year (April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017):
1) Build strong and as required rebuild strong partnerships with key stakeholders in the community and in the CF program.
2) Increase public awareness of Community Futures Big Country.
3) Increase the capacity of Community Futures Big Country Board and staff.
4) Increase the entrepreneurial capacity and awareness in the region.
5) Understand and maintain awareness of small business and their needs in the region.
This is an exciting time in the history of Community Futures Big Country, as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the start of the Community Futures program.