Oliver Krüger (biologist)

Oliver Krüger (born January 24, 1975 in Werther (Westphalia) ) is a German biologist and professor of behavioral ecology at Bielefeld University . His main research interests are life cycle strategies of birds of prey , evolution of brood parasitism and phylogenetic comparative analyzes.

biography

Oliver Krüger studied biology up to his intermediate diploma at the University of Bielefeld and then moved to the University of Oxford , where he received his master's degree in 1997. He completed his doctoral thesis at Bielefeld University with a guest stay at the University of Cambridge (Great Britain) under the supervision of Jan Lindström and Fritz Trillmich. Here he continued his research on life course strategies of buzzards and hawks , which he had already started as a teenager (see prizes and awards) and was thus able to complete his doctorate after 20 months in 2000. From 2000 to 2009, Krüger conducted research at the University of Cambridge and taught at Churchill College there . In July 2009 he followed a call to the University of Bath (Great Britain) as Senior Lecturer (university professor). However, he only stayed here until April 2010, when he received a Heisenberg professorship from the DFG and took over the chair for behavioral research at Bielefeld University. Together with colleagues he called here the Collaborative Research Center NC³ into being a merger of Research in the areas of evolution, behavioral biology, theoretical biology and philosophy at the Universities of Bielefeld and Münster for the study of individual use and design of ecological niches . Krüger has headed this association since its creation in 2017.

Main topics

Kruger’s research focuses on the role of behavior in animal fitness and thus evolution . He pays particular attention to the development of life cycle strategies, individual behavior and personality as well as the effects of these factors on population dynamics . He also researches the coevolution of brood parasites and their hosts, as well as the genetic and physiological basis of fitness.

His longest-standing research system is a population of buzzards and hawks in the Teutoburg Forest . However, Kruger’s approach is diverse and includes Galápagos sea lions , cuckoos, and zebra finches .

Prizes and awards

• 1994 Federal winner Jugend forscht and 1st prize at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists
• 2001 Leopoldina Prize for young scientists from the German Academy of Natural Scientists, Leopoldina
• 2004 "Outstanding Young Investigator Award" from the Association for the Study of Animal Behavior (ASAB)
• 2007 Walther Arndt Prize of the German Zoological Society
• 2007 Hans Löhrl Prize of the German Ornithological Society
• 2008 Niko Tinbergen Prize of the Ethological Society
• 2016 Research Prize of the North Rhine-Westphalian Ornithological Society

In 2015, a new species of wasp was discovered in an insect sample collected by Krüger in Costa Rica, South America and named Platygaster kruegeri in his honor .

Main publications

• Eberhart-Phillips, LJ, Küpper, C., Miller, TEX, Cruz-Lopez, M., Maher, K., dos Remedios, N., Stoffel, MA, Hoffman, JI, Krüger, O. & Szekely, T. (2017) Sex-specific early survival drives adult sex ratio bias in snowy plovers and impacts mating system and population growth. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 114: E5474-E5481.
• Mueller, AK, Chakarov, N., Heseker, H. & Krüger, O. (2016) Intraguild predation leads to cascading effects on habitat choice, behavior and reproductive performance . J. Anim. Ecol. 85: 774-784. doi: 10.1111 / 1365-2656.12493
• Chakarov, N., Jonker, RM, Boerner, M., Hoffman, JI & Krüger, O. (2013) Variation at phenological candidate genes correlates with timing of dispersal and plumage morph in a sedentary bird of prey . Mol. Ecol. 22: 5430-5440. doi: 10.1111 / mec.12493
• Krüger, O. (2011) Brood parasitism selects for no defense in a cuckoo host. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 278: 2777-2783. doi: 10.1098 / rspb.2010.2629
• Chakarov, N., Boerner, M. & Krüger, O. (2008) Fitness in common buzzards at the cross-point of opposite melanin-parasite interactions. Funct. Ecol. 22: 1062-1069. doi: 10.1111 / j.1365-2435.2008.01460.x
• Krüger, O. (2007) Cuckoos, cowbirds and hosts: adaptations, trade-offs and constraints. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 362: 1873-1886. PMC 2442387 (free full text).
• Johnson, DDP & Krüger, O. (2004) The good of wrath: supernatural punishment and the evolution of cooperation. Polit. Theol. 5: 157-173.
• Krüger, O. & Davies, NB (2002) The evolution of cuckoo parasitism: a comparative analysis. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 269: 375-381. PMC 1690908 (free full text)
• Krüger, O., Lindström, J. & Amos, W. (2001) Maladaptive mate choice maintained by heterozygous advantage. Evolution 55: 1207-1214. doi: 10.1111 / j.0014-3820.2001.tb00640.x
• Krüger, O. & Lindström, J. (2001) Habitat heterogeneity affects population growth in goshawk Accipiter gentilis. J. Anim. Ecol. 70: 173-181. doi: 10.1111 / j.1365-2656.2001.00481.x

Web links

• PEVZ: Oliver Krüger - Contact (Bielefeld University). In: ekvv.uni-bielefeld.de. (Resume). 
• PUB publications at Bielefeld University. In: pub.uni-bielefeld.de. (Publications). 
• SFB-TRR 212. In: uni-bielefeld.de. (Collaborative Research Center NC³ (SFB-TRR 212)). 
• Wing Tag Sighting - Bielefeld University. In: uni-bielefeld.de. (Common buzzard: wing mark project). 
• Sea Lion Project Galápagos - Bielefeld University. In: uni-bielefeld.de. 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ DFG - TRR 212: A new synthesis for individualization for behavioral research, ecology and evolution: niche selection, niche conformity, niche construction (NC3). Retrieved January 6, 2020 . 
2. ^ Raptors & Owls - Bielefeld University. In: uni-bielefeld.de. Retrieved August 28, 2020 . 
3. ↑ DFG - GEPRIS - Professor Dr. Oliver Krüger, Ph.D. In: gepris.dfg.de. Retrieved August 28, 2020 . 
4. ^ Sea Lion Project Galápagos - Bielefeld University. In: uni-bielefeld.de. Retrieved August 28, 2020 . 
5. ^ Host-Parasite Coevolution in Cuckoos - Bielefeld University. In: uni-bielefeld.de. Retrieved August 28, 2020 . 
6. ↑ Settlement density, territorial behavior and competition among common buzzards (Buteo buteo) and goshawks (Accipiter gentilis). In: jugend-forscht.de. Retrieved August 28, 2020 . 
7. ^ Leopoldina Prize for young scientists. Retrieved January 6, 2020 . 
8. ↑ ASAB. In: asab.org. Retrieved August 28, 2020 . 
9. ^ DO-G: Hans Löhrl Prize. In: do-g.de. Retrieved August 28, 2020 . 
10. ^ Recipients of the Tinbergen Award - Ethologische Gesellschaft eV In: etho-ges.de. Retrieved August 28, 2020 . 
11. ↑ Ethologische Gesellschaft eV In: etho-ges.de. Retrieved August 28, 2020 . 
12. ↑ Peter N. Buhl: Further new or little known Neotropical species of Platygastrinae (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) . In: International Journal of Environmental Studies . tape 72 , no. 2 , March 4, 2015, ISSN  0020-7233 , p. 316-330 , doi : 10.1080 / 00207233.2014.994275 .