Thomas H. Kunz was an American biologist specializing in the study of bats. He was credited with coining the study of aeroecology; additionally, he wrote several fundamental textbooks and publications on batecology.
Early life
Kunz grew up in Missouri. He credited his interest in biology to his fifth-grade teacher, who was passionate about silkworms.
Kunz taught high school in Kansas after receiving his MA in education. Kunz states that his first experience working with bats was before he attended Drake University. While caving, he and a friend encountered a banded bat. He called in the number on the band and later would collaborate with the professor who banded the bat. Kunz became a professor at Boston University in 1971. Kunz edited or coedited six books on the biology and ecology of bats. His book Ecological and Behavioral Methods for the Study of Bats "is widely praised as one of the best resources available for professional bat researchers, educators and conservationists." He also helped establish the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Ecuador in 1995 to promote the study of rainforest ecology. He helped distinguish the new scientific discipline of aeroecology, which integrates geography, ecology, atmospheric science, and computational biology. A key concept of aeroecology is thinking of the aerosphere as part of the biosphere, as many organisms depend upon the aerosphere for resources. He conducted research on the ecosystem services of bats in a study published in Science, concluding that their services are worth $3-54 billion per year. He retired in 2011 after being seriously injured in an accident.
Awards and honors
In 1984, he won the Gerritt S. Miller Awardfrom the North American Society for Bat Research. In 2003, the University of Central Missouri presented him with their Distinguished Alumni Award, calling him "one of the world's leading mammalogists." In 2011, Kunz was named a Boston University William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor, which is its highest academic award. He is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was formerly President of the American Society of Mammalogists. He was also a recipient of the C. Hart Merriam Award for his contributions to the field of mammalogy. In 2015, Boston University began the Thomas H. Kunz Fund in Biology to "train the next generation of ecologists." PhD candidates in the Ecology, Behavior & Evolution program are eligible for the Thomas H. Kunz Award, which is a financial award from the Thomas H. Kunz Fund.
Kunz, T. H., Arnett, E. B., Erickson, W. P., Hoar, A. R., Johnson, G. D., Larkin, R. P.,... & Tuttle, M. D... Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 5, 315–324.
Kunz, T. H., Gauthreaux Jr, S. A., Hristov, N. I., Horn, J. W., Jones, G., Kalko, E. K.,... & Dudley, R... Integrative and comparative biology, 48, 1-11.
Kunz, T. H., & Parsons, S.. Ecological and behavioral methods for the study of bats. Johns Hopkins University Press..
Kunz, T. H., Braun de Torrez, E., Bauer, D., Lobova, T., & Fleming, T. H... Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1223, 1-38.
Boyles, J. G., Cryan, P. M., McCracken, G. F., & Kunz, T. H... Science, 332, 41–42.
