Dr. Thomas Hiller

Our natural history note is out now

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/H6UQ4M...

New study alert! Sexually selected vocalizations of Greater Mouse-Eared Bats

We recorded male Myotis myotis in mating roosts and found complex vocalizations with an individual signature and pronounced seasonal variation. Check it out!

🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Greater noctule bats prey on and consume passerines in flight Despite billions of passerines seasonally migrating during the night at high altitudes, only three bat species have been found to consistently tap into this rich prey resource. However, it remains unk...

More evidence of bats chasing down and eating migratory birds at night 🦇 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

How temperature and humidity affect a common fungal parasite in an invasive ladybird - Journal Highlight - Royal Entomological Society The Royal Entomological Society journal Ecological Entomology has recently published an article on which factors influence the growth of a parasitic fungus on an invasive ladybird. The researchers hig...

New paper! We looked at how temperature and humidity affect a fungal parasite on a ladybird in an article in @royentsoc.bsky.social's Ecological Entomology. 🐞🍄

You can find the full journal highlight here:
www.royensoc.co.uk/news/tempera...

YouTube video by Royal Entomological Society Effects of temperature on ladybird - Journal Highlights

Why did we use a hot dog roller for this? Did the ladybirds just enjoy it like a fairground ride? I explain here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=46JW...

Our latest research highlights the importance of dry grasslands for bats 🦇🦇🦇
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

New paper out!
We found that in pipistrelle bats, social vocalizations carry a stronger phylogenetic signal than echolocation calls, suggesting the former evolve more slowly, while the latter remains flexible and shaped by the environment.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

☀️Our July Issue is out now!☀️

📙On the cover: The purple-throated carib, a large hummingbird endemic to the islands of the Lesser Antilles. Photo credit: Maximilian Vollstädt🐦

Read it here👇
buff.ly/2ohUs7e

🧪🌍

Rainforest Fragmentation Decreases the Robustness of Plant‐Frugivore Interaction Networks Our study in northern Costa Rica found that larger forest fragments and greater forest cover boost frugivore species richness and strengthen the modularity and robustness of plant–frugivore networks,....

Happy to see this paper led by David Becker about his MSc thesis on the effects of forest fragmentation on bird-fruit networks in Costa Rica published in @biotropica.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1111/btp....

Rainforest Fragmentation Decreases the Robustness of Plant‐Frugivore Interaction Networks Our study in northern Costa Rica found that larger forest fragments and greater forest cover boost frugivore species richness and strengthen the modularity and robustness of plant–frugivore networks,....

Happy to see this paper led by David Becker about his MSc thesis on the effects of forest fragmentation on bird-fruit networks in Costa Rica published in @biotropica.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1111/btp....

Behavioral ecology can inform conservation – and male bats must be part of the picture!

Mating roosts are vital for reproduction, so they should receive the same protection as nursery roosts. Plus, males yodel there...😅

nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

New paper led by Wande Li highlighting the importance of migratory birds as seed disperser in fragmented landscapes.

doi.org/10.1016/j.bi...

Drivers and impacts of global seed disperser decline Nature Reviews Biodiversity - Many plants rely on animals to disperse their seeds, but some groups of these seed-dispersing animals are facing severe declines. This Review summarizes evidence of...

Pollinator decline has captured global attention, but another plant-animal mutualism is quietly unraveling.

Our new Nature Reviews Biodiversity article synthesizes global evidence on seed disperser decline and what it means for plant biodiversity, ecosystem recovery, and climate adaptation. 🧵

A very successful ladybird gathering with the #VisegradFund citizen science workshop here in Ceske Budejovice - fridged for now, checking them for miceofungi tomorrow!

The role of insularity: plants have few ornithophilous traits but are visited by morphologically more distinct hummingbirds in the Caribbean islands

doi.org/10.1111/1365...

The role of insularity: plants have few ornithophilous traits but are visited by morphologically more distinct hummingbirds in the Caribbean islands Maximillian G. R. Vollstädt, Rasmus D. Jensen, Pietro K. Maruyama, Matthias Schleuning, Francielle P. Araújo-Hoffmann, Marlies Sazima, Jesper Sonne, Taia S. O. Schrøder, Fredrik Møller-Stranges, St…

📰Published📰 The role of insularity: plants have few ornithophilous traits but are visited by morphologically more distinct hummingbirds in the Caribbean islands🌺

buff.ly/aLG0JDa

🧪🌍

Worldwide Soundscapes: A Synthesis of Passive Acoustic Monitoring Across Realms Aim The urgency for remote, reliable and scalable biodiversity monitoring amidst mounting human pressures on ecosystems has sparked worldwide interest in Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM), which can...

doi.org/10.1111/geb....

Host-Parasite Association Dynamics Influence Dispersal and Population Genetics of Little Brown Myotis (Myotis lucifugus, Le Conte 1831) Ectoparasites https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40290390/

How Do Bats Find Artificial Roosts?

Surprisingly, our study found that bats' previous experience with artificial roosts mattered more than enhanced detectability!

Read more in our new paper!
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

Photo by Anja Bergmann

YouTube video by Dan Riskin The Bat Signal: Bats Are Smart

Dan Riskin from The Bat Signal created an awesome video about our latest article on individual recognition in bats. Check it out!

youtu.be/9ihFaauZjIo?...

Gebrüder Reiner: Krumbacher Silber | BR.de In der Silbermanufaktur Gebrüder Reiner in Krumbach wird seit 150 Jahren Silberbesteck hergestellt. Die Maschinen sind Vintage Originale, es wirkt wie ein Lost Place dort

Gebrüder Reiner
Krumbacher Silber

Wie eine Zeitreise - die Silbermanufaktur Reiner im schwäbischen Krumbach wurde vor 150 Jahren gegründet und ist bis heute in Familienbesitz. Auch an der Art, wie edles Silberbesteck dort hergestellt wird, hat sich so gut wie nichts verändert.

br.de/s/7D8R8Pq

🦇 Registrations are now open for the 20th International Bat Research Conference (Cairns, Australia, 3-8 Aug 2025)!
Abstract submissions for presentations are also open. More info: ibrc.org
#ibrc2025 #ausbats #bats

Image shows the conference logo, a digital artwork of a mother and pup spectacled flying-fox and a fan palm.

Join us in Cairns, Australia, for the 20th International Bat Research Conference #IBRC2025! Check out www.ibrc.org to register, submit abstracts and get more info.

🌏 #bats

Hand holding a conference badge for the meeting of the society of tropical ecology meeting in Amsterdam

Here we go 🦇🐦

Congrats Danny, well deserved 🥳
🦇+🪰+🍄

Had not noticed this, thank you

Please add me 🦇

Size matching between fruits and bill gapes differentially affects gulper and masher frugivorous birds

https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.10978

@nordicoikos.bsky.social #fruittraits #frugivores #mutualisticinteractions #traitmatching #ecosystemfunctioning #seeddispersal

Bats over rice: Assessing the contribution of insectivorous bats to pest suppression in Mexican rice fields Rice is one of the most important crops for humanity since more than half of the world’s population depends on it as their main source of nourishment.…

🦇 [NEW PAPER]

🔎 The first economic estimate of bat ecosystem services for rice in the American continent was estimated between $3.39/ha and $8.03/ha 💲

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...