Prof. Dr.Mirjam Knörnschild

Head of Science Programme

Mirjam.Knoernschild@mfn.berlin+49 0 30 889 140 - 8795
LinkedInResearchGateGoogle ScholarOrcid

Contact Meta Informationen

Department:
Evolutionary Diversity Dynamics

I head the department of Evolutionary Diversity Dynamics and serve as co-lead of the science programme Dynamics of Nature at the MfN. I am also Professor of Evolutionary Ethology at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and a Research Associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.

I am fascinated by how animals communicate, learn and navigate their social and ecological environment. In my research, I use bats as model systems to investigate the evolution of communication, cognition and behaviour. Studying bats allows me to connect detailed natural-history observation with broader questions about social life, sensory ecology, behavioural flexibility, and processes of adaptation and speciation.

My lab combines behavioural observations, bioacoustics, genomics, neuromolecular analyses, cognitive testing, and computational methods. We work mainly in the wild, where behaviour evolved and where it continues to be shaped by natural and sexual selection. This is especially important for understanding how animals behave in natural settings, and how they respond to ecological challenges. We are particularly interested in combining detailed observations of free-living animals with comparative and experimental approaches to understand both the mechanisms and the evolutionary significance of behaviour.

I also enjoy sharing research beyond academia and exploring new ways of engaging with different audiences. Outreach and dialogue are important to me because they help communicate why biodiversity research matters, and I value collaborations that connect science with art and practical conservation work.
 

I work in the laboratories:
Bioacoustics LaboratoryMolecular Genetics Facilities
I work in the collections:
BiorepositoryMammalsAnimal Sound Archive
I am part of the research areas and working groups:
Evolutionary Ethology

Project(s)

  • Third-Party Funded Project

    CULTSONG - Culture as an evolutionary force?

    CULTSONG investigates in the bat Saccopteryx bilineata whether culturally learned song dialects can drive the emergence of new species.

  • Third-Party Funded Project

    Social Signals – Evolution of active sensing

    The project investigates how bat echolocation may have evolved from social vocalisations, using acoustic experiments and computational analyses.

  • Third-Party Funded Project

    EvoEtho

    EvoEtho investigates the evolution of vocalisations, song dialects, and courtship behaviour in bats as a model system for communication and social behaviour.

  • Third-Party Funded Project

    Neural Basis of Vocal Communication in Bats

    The project investigates the neural foundations of vocal communication in bats, comparing two species with differing vocal learning abilities.

Publications

Schabacker, T., Castiglione, R., Snijders, L., Knörnschild, M. (2025). Social vocalizations indicate behavioural type in Glossophagine bats. Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, 292(2039). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.2217Open Access

Asmus, J., Frommolt, K.H., Knörnschild, M. (2025). Lost in Translation - how Transparency can improve Comparability and Reusability in Acoustic Bat Research [Preprint]. Authorea. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.174265925.50630017/v1Open Access

Knörnschild, M., Nagy, M., Russo, D. (2025). Bats resolve conflicting sensory information for individual recognition. Current Biology, 35(8), 1883-1889. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.02.060Open Access

Fernandez, A., Serve, N., Fabian, S.C., Knörnschild, M. (2025). Maternal behavior influences vocal practice and learning processes in the greater sac-winged bat [Preprint]. eLife. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.99474.2

Ewert, S.P., Knörnschild, M., Jung, K., Frommolt, K.H. (2025). Through the magnifying glass: Untangling fine-scale foraging choices of bats between cropland and adjacent dry grassland. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 396, 109941. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.109941Open Access

Chaverri, G., Sagot, M., Stynoski, J.L., Araya-Salas, M., Araya-Ajoy, Y., Nagy, M., Knörnschild, M., Chaves-Ramírez, S., Rose, N., Sánchez-Chavarría, M., Jiménez-Torres, Y., Ulloa-Sanabria, D., Solís-Hernández, H., Carter, G.G. (2024). Calling to the collective: contact calling rates within groups of disc-winged bats do not vary by kinship or association. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 379(1905), 20230195. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2023.0195Open Access

Ewert, S.P., Knörnschild, M., Jung, K., Frommolt, K.H. (2023). Structurally rich dry grasslands – Potential stepping stones for bats in open farmland. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 11, 995133. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2023.995133Open Access

Tietge, M., Durán, E., Knörnschild, M. (2025). Cooperative behaviors and social interactions in the carnivorous bat Vampyrum spectrum. PLoS ONE, 20(8), e0321338. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321338Open Access

Holtz, S., Hechavarria, J., Knörnschild, M., Scharff, C. (2025). Do it yourself: Creating 3D brain-surface models and custom-made brain matrices for guided sectioning using photogrammetry and three-dimensional printing technology [Preprint]. Neuroscience. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.01.27.635028

Russo, D., Schild, A.B., Knörnschild, M. (2025). Meows encode less individual information than purrs and show greater variability in domestic than in wild cats. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 43490. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-31536-7Open Access

Tietge, M., Durán, E., Knörnschild, M. (2025). Cooperative Behaviors and Social Interactions in the Carnivorous BatVampyrum spectrum [Preprint]. bioRxiv. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.03.06.641965Open Access

Printz, L., Lustig, A., Nagy, M., Knörnschild, M. (2025). Mating system and copulatory behavior of the greater mouse‐eared bat (Myotis myotis). Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1-14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.15390Open Access

Bergmann, A., Gloza‐Rausch, F., Knörnschild, M. (2025). Detecting newly installed bat boxes: Bats’ prior familiarity with artificial roosts may play a bigger role than improved echo-reflective properties. PLoS ONE, 20(4), e0321129-e0321129. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321129Open Access