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Physiological and behavioral ecology of mammals Our research largely focuses on how free-ranging mammals acquire and allocate energy and nutrients during reproduction. In particular, we are interested in patterns of parental investment and the energetic costs of pregnancy and lactation in temperate and tropical bats. A related area of interest is intraspecific and interspecific variation and energetics of postnatal growth in bats. Specifically, I am interested in determining factors that affect postnatal growth rates, including the quality and quantity of food available to the mother, energy and nutrient quality and quantity of milk output of the mother, and the maternity roost environment. Energy expenditure and allocation are determined using a combination of techniques, including body composition analysis (using extraction methods, calorimetry, and TOBEC), roosting metabolism (using standard respirometry), field metabolic rates and water flux (using doubly-labeled water), and time-activity budgets (using radiotelemetry, video monitoring, and direct observation). In collaboration with Eric Widmaier's lab, we are investigating the role of leptin in the regulation of nightly feeding and seasonal reproduction in free-ranging bats. We are also interested
in the behavioral ecology of tropical bats. In particular, we are interested
in species that modify leaves of epiphytes, palms, and other plants by
chewing both primary and secondary veins so that leaves collapse downward,
forming so-called "tents." Recently, we have discovered that single males
construct tents and recruit females with whom they mate. Tent-making behavior
is investigated by capturing and censusing roosting groups, direct observation,
radiotelemetry, infrared video recording, and mtDNA analysis. We are testing
alternative hypotheses which may explain the evolution of tent-making
behavior, including reciprocity, mutualism, and kin-selection, and the
effects of social structuring and forest fragmentation on the genetic
structure of natural populations. (For a complete list of publications, visit Dr. Kunz's personal web page) Recent BooksNational Research Council (co-author). 2007. Environmental Impacts of Wind-Energy Projects. The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 376 pp. Zubaid, A., G.F. McCracken, and T.H. Kunz (eds.). 2006. Functional and Evolutionary Ecology of Bats. Oxford University Press, New York. Kunz, T.H., and M.B. Fenton (eds.). 2003. Bat Ecology. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Recent Book ChaptersStorz, J., H. Bhat, J. Balasingh, P.T. Nathan, and T.H. Kunz. 2006. Evolutionary dynamics of the short-nosed fruit bat, Cynopoterus sphinx (Pteropodidae): Inferences from the spatial scale of genetic and phenotypic differentiation. Pp. 248-268, In: Functional and Evolutionary Ecology (A. Zubaid, G.F. McCracken, and T.H. Kunz, eds.). Oxford University Press, New York. Kunz, T.H. 2005. Becoming a mammalogist: On the wings of heroes. Pp. 141-170, In: Mammalogy: Going Afield: Lifetime Experiences in Exploration, Science, and the Biology of Mammals (C.J. Phillips and C. Jones, eds.). Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas. Kunz, T.H., and K.S. Orrell. 2004. Energy costs of reproduction . Pp. 423-442, In: Encyclopedia of Energy (C. Cleveland, ed.). Elsevier, Oxford. Kunz, T.H. 2004. Foraging habits of North American insectivorous bats. Pp. 13-25, In: Bat Echolocation Research: Tools, Techniques, and Analysis (R.M. Brigham, E.K.V., G. Jones, S. Parsons, and H.J.G.A. Limpens, eds). Bat Conservation International, Austin, Texas. Murray, S.W., and T.H. Kunz. 2004. Bats. Pp. 39-45, In: Encyclopedia of Caves. Academic Press, New York. Kunz, T.H. 2003. Censusing bats: challenges, solutions, and sampling biases. Pp. 9-20, In: Monitoring Trends in Bat Populations of the United States and Territories: Problems and Prospects (T.J. O'Shea and M.A. Bogan, eds.). U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Discipline, Information and Technology Report, USGS/BRD/ITR-2003-003. Sciences Division, Information and Technology Report, Washington, D.C. Kunz, T.H., and D.S. Reynolds. 2003. Bat colonies in buildings. Pp. 91-102, In: Monitoring Trends in Bat Populations of the United States and Territories: Problems and Prospects (T.J. O'Shea and M.A. Bogan, eds.). U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Discipline, Information and Technology Report, USGS/BRD/ITR-2003-003. Recent Journal Articles Voigt, C.C., D.K.N. Dechmann, J. Bender, J.B. Rinehart, R.H. Michener, and T.H. Kunz. 2007. Mineral licks attract neotropical seed-dispersing bats. Ecology Research Letters, doi:10.1155/2007/34212. Schulz, L.C., K.T. Townsend, T.H. Kunz, and E.P. Widmaier. 2007. Inhibition of trophoblast invasiveness in vitro by immunoneutralization of leptin in the bat, Myotis lucifugus (Chiroptera). General and Comparative Endocrinology, 150: 59-65. Campbell, C., C. J. Schneider, A. Zubaid, A.M. Adnan, and T.H. Kunz. 2007. Morphological and ecological correlates in Malaysian fruit bats. Journal of Mammalogy, 88:105-118. Bonaccorso, F.J., J.R. Winkelmann, D. Shin, C.I. Agrawal, N. Aslami, C. Bonney, A. Hsu, P.E. Jekielek, A. Knox, S.J. Kopach, T.D. Jennings, J.R. Lasky, S.A. Menesale, J.H. Richards, J.A. Rutland, A. Sessa, L. Zhaurov, and T.H. Kunz. 2007. Evidence for exploitative competition: comparative foraging behavior and roosting ecology of short-tailed fruit bats (Phyllostomidae). Biotropica, 39:249-256. Stadelmann, B., L.-K. Lin, T.H. Kunz, and M. Ruedi. 2007. Molecular phylogeny of New World Myotis (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA genes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 43:32-48. Chaverri, G., O.E. Quirós and T.H. Kunz. 2007. Ecological correlates of range size in the tent-making bat Artibeus watsoni . Journal of Mammalogy, 88:477-486. Chaverri, G., M. Gamba-Rios, and T.H. Kunz. 2007. Range overlap and association patterns in the tent-making bat Artibeus watsoni . Animal Behaviour, 73:157-164. Chaverri, G., M. Gamba-Rios, and T.H. Kunz. 2007. Ecological correlates of social strategies in the tent-making bat Artibeus watsoni: Roost fidelity and group stability. Ethology, 113: 598-605. Campbell, P., A.S. Putnam, C. Bonney, J.C. Morales, T.H. Kunz, and L.A. Ruedas. 2007, Contrasting patterns of genetic differentiation between endemic and widespread species of fruit bats (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) from Sulawesi, Indonesia. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 44: 474-482. Kunz, T.H., E.B. Arnett, W.P. Erickson, G.D. Johnson, R.P. Larkin, M.D. Strickland, R.W. Thresher, and M D. Tuttle. 2007. Ecological impacts of wind energy development on bats: Questions, hypotheses, and research needs. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 5:315-324. Betke, M., D.E. Hirsh, A. Bagchi, N.I. Hristov, N.C. Makris, and T.H. Kunz. 2007. Tracking large variable numbers of objects in clutter. Proceedings of the IEEE Computer Society June 2007. Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Lambert, A.J., H.M. Boysen, J.A. Buckingham, T. Yang, A. Podlutsy, S.N. Austad, T.H. Kunz, R. Buffenstein and M.D. Brand. 2007. Low rates of hydrogen peroxide production by isolated heart mitochondria associate with long maximum lifespan in vertebrate homeotherms. Aging Cell, 6: 609-618. Kunz, T.H., E.B. Arnett. B. M. Cooper, W.P. Erickson, R.P. Larkin, T. Mabee, M.L. Morrison, M.D. Strickland, and J.M. Szewczak. 2007. Assessing impacts of wind energy development on nocturnally active birds and bats: a guidance document. Journal of Wildlife Management, 71: 2449-2486. Hodgkison, R., M. Ayasse, E.K.V. Kalko, C. Haberlein, S. Schulz, WA.W. Mustapha, A. Zubaid, and T.H. Kunz. 2008. The chemical ecology of fruit bat foraging behavior, in relation to the fruit odors of two species of bat-dispersed figs ( Ficus hispida ) and Ficus scortechinii ) in the Paleotropics. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 33: 2097-2110. Voigt, C. C., D.K.N. Dechmann, J. Bender, J.B. Rinehart. R.H. Michener, and T.H. Kunz. 2007. Mineral licks attract neotropical seed-dispersing bats. Ecology Research Letters, ID 34212, 4 pp. (doi:10.1155/2007/34212). Other articles in press Reynolds, R.S., J.C. Sullivan, and T.H. Kunz. 2008. Evaluation of total body electrical conductivity (TOBEC) to estimate the body composition of a small mammal, Myotis lucifugus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae). Journal of Wildlife Management. Kunz, T.H., R. Hodgkison, and C. Weise. 2008. Methods for capturing and handling bats. In: Ecological and Behavioral Methods for the Study of Bats (T.H. Kunz and S. Parsons, eds.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. Kunz, T.H., and C. Weise. 2008. Methods and devices for marking bats. In: Ecological and Behavioral Methods for the Study of Bats (T.H. Kunz and S. Parsons, eds.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. Kunz.T.H., R.A Adams, and W.R. Hood. 2008. Methods for assessing postnatal growth and development of bats. In: Ecological and Behavioral Methods for the Study of Bats (T.H. Kunz and S. Parsons, eds.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. Kunz, T.H., M. Betke, N.I. Hristov, and M. Vonhof, 2008. Methods for assessing abundance in bats. In: Ecological and Behavioral Methods for the Study of Bats (T.H. Kunz and S. Parsons, eds.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. Links The Center for Conservation Biology and Ecology at Boston University |
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If you would like to find out more information regarding Tom Kunz's research you can write to him at: 5 Cummington Street, Boston, MA 02215; call (617) 353-2474; or e-mail him at kunz@bu.edu; or visit his personal web site at http://www.bu.edu/cecb/bats Questions
and comments are always welcome.
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