FSD 2010 - Kalko

5th International Symposium-Workshop on Frugivores and Seed Dispersal (1985-2010)

Elisabeth K. V. Kalko (1962-2011)

Obituary: Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Klara Victoria Kalko

Prof Dr. E. K. V. Kalko (Universitaët Ulm)

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

"A close friend and one of the most passionate, intelligent and productive scientists in our community and among bat researchers worldwide"
Remembering Elisabeth "Eli" Kalko (FaceBook Group)

(Photo : Eli Kalko during the banquet at Montpellier, 18 June 2010. © Irene Mendoza)

Activity

In her research, she was integrating studies of physiology, behavior, ecology, and natural history of vertebrates with the ultimate goal of understanding the ecological and evolutionary patterns of their diversity. In particular, she had selected bats (Chiroptera) for the focus of her research. Among terrestrial vertebrates, bats are especially well-suited because they are distributed worldwide, highly speciose, and unsurpassed in ecological diversity among mammals. These characteristics are best manifested in tropical forests, where more than 100 species may coexist, and where bats have evolved a wide range of foraging strategies and diets. There, bats play indispensable roles by dispersing large quantities of seeds, pollinating flowers, and controlling insect populations. Currently, her research was divided into four main areas: (1) case studies of bat species interacting with other organisms, (2) comparisons of behavior, physiology, and ecology of sympatric bat species, (3) comparative community studies, and (4) museum studies on taxonomy and systematics of bats.

Abstract

Frugivory and seed dispersal by bats: effects of habitat degradation and fragmentation on plant diversity and distribution

Listen to Eli during her plenary talk in June 2010 at the 5th Symposium on Frugivores and Seed Dispersal (free registration)

Elisabeth Kalko at FSD2010 (© Roland Kays)

Experimental Ecology, University of Ulm

Bats (Chiroptera) are highly mobile links that promote plant recruitment and diversity through transportation, processing and handling of seeds as well as through selection of (micro)habitats and feeding sites. Quality and quantity of dispersal services depend strongly on species composition and abundance and associated behavioral and physiological characteristics of the main disperser(s). Human impact, in particular changes in land use, (over)hunting and global (climate) change increasingly affect these intricate interactions. Combining results from published work and our own studies, I am providing a synthesis on current knowledge, how habitat degradation and fragmentation affect community composition and structure of bats and how these changes are likely to translate into changes in plant distribution and diversity. Here, ecological and behavioral flexibility of the dispersers and differential reactions towards disturbance, as well as landscape attributes (i.e., connectivity), and other dispersers (i.e., birds, primates) lead to a highly complex picture. Inclusion of physiological parameters is of the essence. As an example, changes in (micro)climate may alter the distribution of scent, one of the main attractants of chiropterous fruits. The overview ranges from case studies on behavior, mobility and resource use of individual species on the local scale to comparisons contrasting composition and structure of frugivorous bat assemblages in the Old and New World (sub)tropics on a global scale. Future research needs to be targeted explicitly towards interdisciplinary work with well-founded predictions that provide the scientific basis for improvement of management strategies to slow down or stop further loss of this important ecological service. (Photo © by Christian Ziegler)

Some key related references

Heer K, Albrecht L, Kalko EKV (accepted) Effects of ingestion by neotropical bats on germination parameters of free-standing figs (Ficus sp., Moraceae). Oecologia

Djossa BA, Fahr J, Kalko EKV, Sinsin BA (2008) Fruit selection and effects of seed handling by flying foxes on germination rates of shea trees, a key resource in Northern Benin, West Africa. Ecotropica 14:37-48

Djossa BA, Sinsin BA, Kalko EKV, Fahr J (2008) Inventory of bat species of Niaouli Forest, Bénin, and its bearing on the significance of the Dahomey Gap as zoogeographic barrier. African Bat Conservation News 15:4-6

Djossa BA, Fahr J, Wiegand T, Ayihouénou BE, Kalko EKV, Sinsin BA (2008) Land use impact on Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaerten. stand structure and distribution patterns: a comparison of Biosphere Reserve of Pendjari in Atacora district in Benin. Agroforest Syst 72:205-220

Hodgkison R, Ayasse M, Kalko EKV, Haeberlein C, Schulz S, Mustapha WAW, Zubaid A, Kunz TH (2007) Chemical ecology of fruit bat foraging behavior in relation to the fruit odors of two species of paleotropical bat-dispersed figs (Ficus hispida and Ficus scortechinii). J Chem Ecol 33:2097-2110.