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Mirjam Knörnschild

@berlinbatlab.bsky.social
341 followers 198 following 47 posts

Professor of Evolutionary Ethology at HU Berlin. Department Head at Museum for Natural History. Interested in animals and their voices. Bats rock.

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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Our new study suggests that bats originated in Europe around 65 million years ago and revises our understanding of how several major bat groups are related. Proud to be part of the international Bat1K team behind this work. doi.org/10.1038/s415...
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
What would it take for AI to decode animal communication? In our new opinion piece, we argue that animal signals should not be understood only by how similar they sound, but by how the receiver perceives them. 🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
New bat species for Europe! doi.org/10.1016/j.ge... Many thanks to @piotr-naskrecki.bsky.social for the stunning photos of Nycteris thebaica, taken in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique.
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Check out our new paper! 🔗 nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
New tool to estimate diversity error in bat acoustic surveys Sonotypes are often used in bat acoustic surveys — but how much diversity error do they introduce? We provide a free tool to estimate α- and β-diversity error. r-fornaro.github.io//SonotypeDiv... www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
2nd Coller Dolittle Challenge Awards This year’s Award Ceremony takes place on 25 June 2026. I’m pleased to be serving on the judging committee and look forward to hearing directly from the finalists as they present their exciting research. 👉 Register here to join us: zoom.us/webinar/regi...
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Very happy to see this officially out in the world. Congratulations again, Danilo — this is a fantastic and well-deserved recognition of your work. We at the Museum für Naturkunde are delighted that this award will further strengthen our collaboration. www.museumfuernaturkunde.berlin/en/museum/se...
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Really enjoyed being a guest on the Acoustic World Podcast and talking with Marco Maiolini about bat communication. Acoustic World brings together scholars across disciplines to explore how animals produce, use, and experience sound. open.spotify.com/episode/2A93...
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
New paper alert: >80k nacelle-height recordings and stereo-thermal 3D tracks show that bats sing in the rotor-swept zone and circle turbine nacelles. We need smarter, species-sensitive curtailment that aligns both climate and biodiversity goals. #Bats #Conservation 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s420...
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
New study alert! Female Daubenton’s bats foraging at the cold edge of their range take turns using the same feeding spots at different times of night, thus reducing competition and helping them cope with the cold. Read the full story here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
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...
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
Our new study shows that cats’ purrs are more individually distinct than their meows and suggests that domestication has made the meows of cats more variable than those of cheetah, cougar & Co. Check it out! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Remember… Bats aren’t spooky, they’re adorable 💕Here, an Ectophylla alba pup chilling under a leaf tent gets a surprise visit… from a katydid. Happy Halloween 🦇🦇🦇
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
Brown rats are preying on bats at urban hibernation sites – even snatching them mid-air. Conservation efforts must include non-native rodent control at key bat roosts. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
Our latest research highlights the importance of dry grasslands for bats 🦇🦇🦇 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
New publication from my lab: Vampyrum spectrum, the Neotropics' largest carnivorous bat, is very cooperative. These gentle apex predators regularly provide prey for family member – documented in the wild for the first time. doi.org/10.1371/jour...
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 10/08/2025
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...
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
In the field in Abruzzo National Park, watching Daubenton’s bats hunt over water at night. Excited to co-supervise Chiara Belli’s PhD together with Danilo Russo from the Animal Ecology and Evolution Lab in Italy. Chiara studies altitudinal segregation in bats and how climate change affects it 🦇🦇🦇
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
Danilo Russo and I have received a grant from MfN Berlin to study how climate change affects bat pup survival. As Southern Europe swelters under record-breaking temperatures, we are investigating how extreme heat turns safe roosts into death traps – and how to prevent that.
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
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....
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
Check out the beautiful book Smithsonian Kids published about our research on babbling baby bats! Illustrated by Gavin Scott and written by Paige Towler together with the Smithsonian Bat Lab. Although it was published last year, I only received my copy a few days ago — and I’m completely smitten! ♥️
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Mother Bats Shape Their Pups’ Voices Vocal learning isn’t just about listening—it’s about interactions! Mother bats play a key role in shaping how their pups learn to communicate, showing how important early-life interactions are. doi.org/10.7554/eLif... @eLife.bsky.social @ahanaaurora.bsky.social
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Join the Jeremy Coller Foundation and Tel Aviv University for a virtual event on 15th May 2025 at 2PM BST to award the first winner of the Coller Dolittle Challenge for Interspecies Two-Way Communication. Register here: zoom.us/webinar/regi...
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
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
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
Who is calling? Bats outsmart deception by solving sensory conflicts www.cell.com/current-biol...
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Mirjam Knörnschild @berlinbatlab.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Bats' vocalizations can reveal their personalities Bold, exploratory, and proactive individuals were more likely to produce social calls – and more agitated bats called even more! royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... Photo by Michael Stifter
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