Estel Blanch-Ojea is a master's student of the "Biodiversity in Tropical Areas and its Conservation" Master course from the Menéndez Pelayo International University, coordinated by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). She is currently working on her final thesis at the Natural Science Museum of Granollers. Aiming to assess the diet composition and feeding niche overlap of two trawling bat species, the endangered long-fingered bat and the widespread daubenton’s bat, using molecular data (DNA metabarcoding techniques). For this purpose, she is also supported by researchers from the Research Centre on Biodiversity and Genetic Resources (CIBIO) of Portugal.

After her Bachelor’s degree in Biology at the University of Girona, she got experience in environmental studies, laboratory analysis and wildlife monitoring studies, primarily focused on birds and marine invertebrates. It was not until 2020 - when she joined GEPEC, a local association for nature conservation - that she was introduced to the captivating flying mammals thanks to a bat researcher from the Natural Science Museum of Granollers. During the last year being part of the Museum’s Bat Research Group, she has acquired experience on bat monitoring, bioinformatics, ultrasound analysis, among others. This knowledge has increased her research interest in bat ecology and conservation in order to develop appropriate management strategies.