Universität Hamburg - der Forschung, der Lehre, der Bildung, zur Homepage
Department of Biology

Photo: UHH/Kathrin Dausmann

Functional Ecology

Prof. Dr. Kathrin Dausmann

dausmann135x180

Head of Research Unit

Funktionelle Ökologie

Address

Universität Hamburg
Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences
Department Biology
Institute of Cell and Systems Biology of Animals
Functional Ecology
Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3
20146 Hamburg

Office

Institute of Cell and Systems Biology of Animals
Room: 464

Contact

Tel: +49 40 42838 3864
Fax: +49 40 42838 5980

Key aspects of activity

  • Ecology of small mammals
  • Energy budgets
  • Novel environments
  • Hibernation and daily torpor
  • Tropical ecology
  • Madagascar

Researchgate Prof. Dr. Kathrin Dausmann

Google Scholar Prof. Dr. Kathrin Dausmann

Bio

Kathrin decided at a young age on a family trip to Greece that she wanted to become an ant researcher, which she thought was much more fascinating than looking at any more ancient rubble. However, something went wrong somewhere along the line and she became intrigued with energetics and how animals are able to make a living on the edge and adapt to all kinds of environmental changes. Kathrin is now a professor for Functional Ecology, focusing on ecology and energy budgets in a changing world mostly in small mammals, but also frogs, lizards and birds (not ants, so far). An almost accidental trip to Madagascar sparked her fascination for this country and she has spent a lot of time in tents and hammocks in the forests of Madagascar, chasing down friendly lemurs. Kathrin still looks at every ant she sees and continues to be fascinated by them.

Curriculum Vitae

CURRICULUM VITAE

since 2015

 Professor for Functional Ecology
Department of Functional Ecology, University Hamburg, Germany

2004 -2015

Junior Professor for Ecophysiology
Department of Animal Ecology & Conservation, University Hamburg, Germany

1998 - 2004

Dissertation and Research Assistance
Department of Animal Physiology, Philipps-University, Marburg, Germany
PhD thesis: "Physiological basis of tropical hibernation in the Malagasy primate Cheirogaleus medius"

1991 - 1997

University Education

  • Julius-Maximilians-University (Tropical Biology & Animal Ecology), Würzburg, Germany
  • Oxford University (Animal Ecology, Behavioural Ecology, Genetics), Oxford, Great Britain
  • German Primate Centre (Behavioural Ecology & Sociobiology), Göttingen, Germany

Diploma thesis: "The fate of lemur-dispersed seeds: secondary seed dispersal and seed predation in the dry forests of western Madagascar"

Publikationen

Scientific journals and books

  • Ruthsatz K, Dausmann KD, Reinhardt S, Robinson T, Sabatino NM, Peck MA, Glos J (2019) Endocrine disruption alters energy allocation during metamorphosis and affects post-metamorphic locomotor performance in the Common frog (Rana temporaria) Integrative Comparative Biology 59(1)
  • Reher S, Rabarison H, Schoroth M, Dausmann KH (2019) Seasonal movements of insectivorous bat species in southwestern Madagascar. Malagasy Nature 13
  • Thomas L, Teich E, Reher S, Dausmann KH, Turner JM (2018) Degree of urbanisation affects Eurasian red squirrel activity patterns. Hystrix 29 (2): 175–180.
  • Ruthsatz K, Sabatino NM, Becker LI, Reese J, Hartmann L, Drees C, Peck MA, Dausmann KH, Glos J (2018) Altered thyroid hormone levels affect body condition at metamorphosis in amphibian larvae. Journal of Applied Toxicology 38: 1416-1425.
  • Reher, S., Ehlers, J., Rabarison, H., Dausmann, K. H. (2018) Short and hyperthermic torpor responses in the Malagasy bat Macronycteris commersoni reveal a broader hypometabolic scope in heterotherms. Accepted for printing in: Journal of Comparative Physiology B.
  • Ruthsatz, K., Dausmann, K, H., Drees, C., Peck, M., Sabatino, N., Becker, L., Reese, J., Hartmann, L., Glos, J. (2018) Thyroid hormone levels and temperature during development alter thermal tolerance and energetics in larvae of Xenopus laevis. Accepted for printing in: Conservation Physiology.
  • Blanco MB, Dausmann KH, Faherty S, Yoder AD (2018) Tropical heterothermy is “cool”: the expression of daily torpor and hibernation in primates. Evolutionary Anthropology 27: 147-161
  • Ruthsatz K, Peck MA, Dausmann KH, Sabatino NM, Glos J (2018) Patterns of temperature induced developmental plasticity in anuran larvae. Journal of Thermal Biology 74: 123-132
  • Berg W, Theisinger O, Dausmann KH (2017) Acclimatization patterns in tropical reptiles: uncoupling temperature and energetics. Science of Nature 104: 91
  • Turner J, Warnecke L, Reher S, Dausmann KH (2017) Eurasian red squirrels show little seasonal variation in metabolism in food-enriched habitat. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 90: 655-662
  • Bethge J, Wist B, Stalenberg E, Dausmann KH (2017) Seasonal adaptations in energy budgeting in the primate Lepilemur leucopus. JCP B 187: 827-834
  • Theisinger O, Berg W, Dausmann KH (2017) Compensation of thermal constraints along a natural environmental gradient in a Malagasy iguanid lizard (Oplurus quadrimaculatus). Journal of Thermal Biology 68: 21-27
  • Eppley, T , Ganzhorn JU, Dausmann KH, Watzek J (2017) Huddling is more important than rest site selection for thermoregulation in southern bamboo lemurs. Animal Behaviour 127: 153-161
  • Dausmann KH, Warnecke L (2016) Primate torpor expression: ghost of the climatic past. Physiology 31(6):398-408
  • Blanco MB, Dausmann KH, Faherty S, Klopfer P, Krystal A, Schopler R, Yoder AD (2016) Hibernation in a Primate: Does sleep occur? Royal Society Open Science 3: 160282
  • Reher S, Dausmann KH, Warnecke L, Turner J (2016) The influence of food availability on red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) spatial distribution patterns in an urban environment. Journal of Mammalogy 97(6): 1543-1554
  • Dausmann KH, Blanco MB (2016) Possible causes and consequences of different hibernation patterns in Cheirogaleus species – Mitovy fatsy sahala. In: Lehmann S, Radespiel U, Zimmermann E (eds) Dwarf and Mouse Lemurs of Madagascar: Biology, Behavior and Conservation Biogeography of the Cheirogaleidae. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 335-349
  • Berg W, Theisinger O, Dausmann KH (2015) Evaluation of skin temperature measurements as suitable surrogate of body temperature in lizards under field conditions. Herpetological Review 46(2): 157-161
  • Dausmann KH (2015) No energetic benefits from sociality in tropical hibernation. Functional Ecology 29(4): 498-505
  • Nowack J, Dausmann KH (2015) Can heterothermy help the colonization of new habitats? Mammalian review 45(2): 117-127
  • Dausmann KH (2014) Flexible patterns in energy savings: heterothermy in primates. Journal of Zoology 292: 101-111
  • Kobbe S, Ganzhorn JU, Dausmann KH (2014) Torpor is not the only option: seasonal variations of the thermoneutral zone in a small primate. JCP B 184(6):789-797
  • Pretzlaff I, Rau D, Dausmann KH (2014) Energy expenditure increases during the active season in the small, free-living hibernator Muscardinus avellanarius. Mammalian Biology 97(3): 208-214
  • Blanco MB, Dausmann KH, Ranaivoarisoa JF, Yoder AD (2013) Underground hibernation in a primate. Scientific Reports 3: 1768 doi: 10.1038/srep01768
  • Dausmann KH (2013) Spoilt for choice – Selection of hibernacula by Cheirogaleus medius. In: Masters J, Gamba M, Génin F (eds) Leaping ahead: Advances in prosimian biology. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer, New York Heidelberg, pp 205-214
  • Dausmann KH, Wein J, Turner JM, Glos J (2013) Absence of torpor in the European red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris). Mammalian Biology 78: 332– 335
  • Nowack J, Dausmann KH, Mzilikazi N (2013) Nonshivering thermogenesis in the African lesser bushbaby Galago moholi. Journal of Experimental Biology 216: 3811-3817
  • Nowack J, Mzilikazi N, Dausmann KH (2013) Torpor as an emergency solution in Galago moholi: heterothermy is triggered by different constraints. Journal of Comparative Physiology B 183: 547-556
  • Nowack J, Wippich M, Mzilikazi N, Dausmann KH (2013) Surviving the cold, dry period in Africa: Behavioral adjustments as an alternative to heterothermy in the African lesser bushbaby (Galago moholi). International Journal of Primatology 34: 49-64
  • Dausmann KH (2012) The pitfalls of body temperature measurements. Naturwissenschaften 99:511-513
  • Dausmann KH, Nowack J, Kobbe S, Mzilikazi N (2012) Afrotropical heterothermy: a continuum of possibilities. In: Ruf T, Bieber C, Arnold W, Millesi E (eds). Living in a seasonal world: thermoregulatory and metabolic adaptations.  Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, pp 13-27
  • Pretzlaff I, Dausmann KH (2012) Impact of climatic variation on the hibernation physiology of Muscardinus avellanarius. In: Ruf T, Bieber C, Arnold W, Millesi E (eds). Living in a seasonal world: thermoregulatory and metabolic adaptations.  Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, pp 85-97
  • Rödel H, Dausmann KH, Starkloff A, Schubert M, von Holst D, Hudson R (2012) Diurnal nursing pattern of wild-type European rabbits under natural breeding conditions. Mammalian Biology 77: 441-446
  • Kobbe S, Ganzhorn JU, Dausmann KH (2011) Extreme individual flexibility of heterothermy in free-ranging Malagasy mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus). JCP B 181(1): 165-173
  • Lahann P, Dausmann KH (2011) Live fast, die young: flexibility of life-history traits in the fat-tailed dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus medius). BES 65: 381-390
  • Dausmann, KH (2010) Effective predation defence in Cheirogaleus medius. Lemur News 15: 18-20
  • Nowack J, Mzilikazi K, Dausmann KH (2010) Torpor on Demand: Heterothermy in non-lemur primates Galago moholi. PLoS ONE 5(5): e10797 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010797
  • Pretzlaff I, Kerth G, Dausmann KH (2010) Communally breeding bats use physiological and behavioural adjustments to optimize daily energy expenditure. Naturwissenschaften 97(4): 353-363
  • Schwensow N, Dausmann K, Eberle M, Fietz J, Sommer S (2010) Functional associations of similar MHC alleles and shared parasite species in two sympatric lemurs. Infection, Genetics and Evolution 10(5): 662-8
  • Dausmann KH, Glos J, Heldmaier G (2009) Energetics of tropical hibernation. Journal of Comparative Physiology B 179: 345-357
  • Kobbe S, Dausmann KH (2009) Hibernation in Malagasy mouse lemurs as a strategy to counter environmental challenge. Naturwissenschaften 96: 1221-1227
  • Dausmann KH (2008) Hypometabolism in primates; torpor and hibernation. In: Lovegrove BG and McKechnie AE (eds) Hypometabolism in Animals: Torpor, Hibernation and Cryobiology. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, pp 327-336
  • Dausmann KH, Glos J, Linsenmair KE, Ganzhorn JU (2008) Improved recruitment of a lemur dispersed tree in Malagasy dry forest after the demise of vertebrates in forest fragments. Oecologia 157: 307–316
  • Glos J, Dausmann KH, Linsenmair KE (2008) Modeling the habitat use of Aglyptodactylus laticeps, an endangered dry-forest frog from Western Madagascar. In: Andreone F (ed) A Conservation Strategy for the Amphibians of Madagascar - Monografie del Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali di Torino, pp 125-142
  • Glos J, Wegner F, Dausmann KH, Linsenmair KE (2008) Oviposition-site selection in an endangered Madagascan frog: experimental evaluation of a habitat model and its implications for conservation. Biotropica 40(5): 646-652
  • Schwensow N, Fietz J, Dausmann KH and Sommer S (2008) MHC-associated mating strategies and the importance of overall genetic diversity in an obligate pair-living primate. Evolutionary Ecology 22(5): 617-636
  • Glos J, Dausmann KH, Linsenmair KE (2007) Mixed-species social aggregations in Madagascan tadpoles – determinants and species composition. Journal of Natural History 41: 1965-1977
  • Glos J, Erdmann G, Dausmann KH, Linsenmair KE (2007) A comparative study of predator-induced social aggregation of tadpoles in two anuran species from western Madagascar. Herpetological Journal 17(8): 261-268
  • Schwensow N, Fietz J, Dausmann KH, and Sommer S (2007) Neutral versus adaptive variation in parasite resistance: importance of MHC-supertypes in a free-ranging primate. Heredity 99: 265-277
  • Fietz J, Dausmann KH (2006) Big is beautiful: fat storage and hibernation as a strategy to cope with marked seasonality in the fat-tailed dwarf lemus (Cheirogaleus medius). In: Gould L and Sauther ML (eds) Lemurs: Ecology and Adaptation. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 97-111
  • Dausmann KH (2005) Measuring body temperature in the field – evaluation of external vs. implanted transmitters in a small mammal. Journal of Thermal Biology 30: 195-202
  • Dausmann KH, Glos J, Ganzhorn JU, Heldmaier G (2005) Hibernation in the tropics: lessons from a primate. Journal of Comparative Physiology B 175: 147-155
  • Dausmann KH, Glos J, Ganzhorn JU, Heldmaier G (2004) Hibernation in a tropical primate. Nature 429: 825-826
  • Fietz J, Schlund W, Dausmann KD, Regelmann M, Heldmaier G (2004) Energetic constraints on sexual activity in the male edible dormouse (Glis glis). Oecologia 138: 202-209
  • Fietz J, Dausmann KH (2003) Costs and potential benefits of parental care in the nocturnal fat-tailed dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus medius). Folia Primatologica 74: 246-258
  • Fietz J, Tataruch F, Dausmann KH, Ganzhorn JU (2003) White adipose tissue composition in the free-ranging fat-tailed dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus medius; Primates), a tropical hibernator. Journal of Comparative Physiology B 173: 1-10
  • Dausmann KH, Ganzhorn JU, Heldmaier G (2000) Body temperature and metabolic rate of a hibernating primate in Madagascar: Preliminary results from a field study. In: Heldmaier G and Klingenspor M (eds) Life in the Cold: 11th International Hibernation Symposium. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 41-47
  • Fietz J, Zischler H, Schwiegk C, Tomiuk J, Dausmann KH, Ganzhorn JU (2000) High rates of extra-pair young in the pair-living fat-tailed dwarf lemur, Cheirogaleus medius. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 49:8-17

Other publications

  • Dausmann KH (2015) Winterschläfer auf Madagaskar. DFG forschung 1/2015: 22-27
  • Dausmann KH (2007) Kommentare zum Artikel "Madagaskars Lemures - Am Rande der Existenz", National Geographic Deutschland, Hamburg
  • Dausmann KH, Reh U (2007) Ein Traum für Rudi. Kinderbuch über madagassische Tiere.
  • Dausmann KH (2004) Physiological basis of tropical hibernation in the Malagasy primate Cheirogaleus medius. PhD thesis, Department of Animal Physiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg
  • Dausmann KH (1997) Sekundäre Samenausbreitung und Samenprädation im westmadagassischen Trockenwald: Das Schicksal lemuren-ausgebreiteter Samen. Diplomarbeit. Fakultät für Biologie, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg