Kristin Jonasson

She/Her

I am bi and I am a research scientist at Bat Conservation International.//

My work has focused on the physiological ecology of bats. I get excited about how animals allocate their time and energy — thermoregulation and phenology are my jam. I’m particularly interested in how sex affects the allocation of resources outside of the breeding season. My MSc (University of Winnipeg) research examined the hibernation energetics of little brown bats, to better understand the devastating disease White-nose syndrome. During my PhD (University of Western Ontario) I examined migratory behaviours of tree-roosting bats. After graduating, I studied the foraging ecology of the endangered ʻōpeʻapeʻa (Hawaiian hoary bat).

I spent my 20’s closeted because I was afraid that I would be judged as “not queer enough” or “attention seeking”. After living on Maui for a year, I became more comfortable being out about my queerness and I came out to my professional network (who were insanely supportive). I was struck by the number of women I knew, worked with, and admired, that spoke up to say, “I’m bi too!” I hadn’t realized that I already had a community. Bisexual invisibility prevented me from connecting with these amazing scientists earlier. Now I work to increase my visibility so that I can better support other LGBT+ STEM scientists.

Twitter @KAJonasson, Instagram @Noctivagans