Departments
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26 June 1998 |
Vol. II, No. 1 |
Feature
Article
Biology prof wins top honor for bat research
CAS Professor of Biology Thomas Kunz has won the C. Hart Merriam Award, the top honor of the American Society of Mammalogists. Kunz, director of the Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology, is a renowned expert on mammals, particularly bats. The award, named for a leading turn-of-the-century naturalist who was also the first president of the American Society of Mammalogists, is presented annually to a scientist who has achieved a record of excellence in the field of mammalian biology.
Using bats as a model to study mammalian ecological behavior, Kunz has distinguished himself in work on the energetics of reproduction, locomotion, and hibernation. He has also made substantial contributions to studies of behavioral ecology, population ecology, and conservation. Kunz is a pioneer in the use of sophisticated methods for collecting detailed physiological and behavioral data on free-ranging animals: techniques include the use of stable isotopes (nonradioactive) to determine the energy expenditure of free-ranging bats, and the use of infrared video to assess the behavior of bats in the dark.
A native of Missouri, Kunz became fascinated with bats while exploring the vast caves under the countryside near Central Missouri State University, where he earned a B.S. in biology in 1961. He received a master's degree in biology from Drake University and a Ph.D. in Systematics and Biology from the University of Kansas before joining Boston University's biology department in 1971. Kunz served as department chairman from 1985 to 1990 and was appointed director of the Center for Ecology and Conservation in 1996. In their citation, the award committee members paid tribute to Kunz's long-term leadership role in organizing international conferences, and his dedication as a teacher and mentor to his undergraduate and graduate students.