Understanding how age and health influences flight & foraging behaviour
Our research explores how foraging and flight ability is shaped by genetic and physiological traits.
Animal fitness is linked to foraging efficiency, shaped by cognitive abilities and physiological traits. In social insects like ants, termites, and social bees, the division of labour is key to their colony success. Bumblebees, with their primitively eusocial structure, are an ideal model for studying how foraging behaviour, flight energetics, and cognitive skills influence colony fitness. My focus is on how factors such as age and health may influence their foraging and flight behaviour.
My research combines traditional methods such as classical conditioning, flight mill assays and gene expression analysis with innovative approaches such as life-long behavioural tracking using RFID technology. By investigating how environmental stressors, such as parasites and climate change, impact bumblebees' foraging behaviour, I aim to enhance our understanding of the challenges bees face and their implications for colony fitness. In my recently funded DFG project Sublethal effects of an emerging infectious disease on foraging efficiency in bumblebees[CK1] , we will expand our research on this topic by using RFID-enabled robotic flowers.
Sublethal effects of an emerging infectious disease on foraging efficiency in bumblebees
The importance of bee health and food security has increased as bee populations decline due to various factors, potentially leading to a “pollination crisis.” The frequent spread of viruses, particularly deformed wing virus (DWV), to wild pollinators like bumblebees raises questions about the risks they pose to their fitness. Infectious diseases can have deleterious effects on the overall health of bees beyond mortality, but these sublethal effects are largely unknown. Pathogens can reduce foraging efficiency and increase resource acquisition costs, affecting colony fitness. The aim of this project is to investigate the sublethal effects of an emerging viral infection (DWV) on bumble bees. We will analyse the host's energy expenditure during flight and rest and assess the cognitive and behavioural changes induced by DWV over the course of the infection. The results will help to fill current knowledge gaps about the sublethal effects of an important emerging virus on bumblebees and improve our understanding of the potential risks it poses to wild pollinators.
Collaborators: PD Dr. Tomer Czaczkes (UR), Prof. Dr. Robert Paxton (MLU Halle), Prof. Dr. Lena Wilfert, and Prof. Dr. Tom Wenseleers (KU Leuven)
Recent publications
Gilgenreiner, M., & Kurze, C. (2024). Age dominates flight distance and duration, while body size shapes flight speed in Bombus terrestris L.(Hymenoptera: Apidae). Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 291(2027), 20241001. doi: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.1001 (externer Link, öffnet neues Fenster)
Life-history and physiological responses to a changing world
We study the physiological and developmental effects of environmental stressors such as the impact of thermal stress, resource scarcity, and inert chemicals.
Environmental stressors like heatwaves, resource scarcity, and pollution are increasingly threatening species, including bumblebees, as climate change and human activities amplify these challenges. I am particularly interested in how thermal stress, starvation, pesticide interactions (with adjuvants), and urbanisation affect bumblebee life-history, physiology and colony fitness.
My research includes both controlled lab experiments (classical conditioning, in-vitro rearing, and cage studies) and field experiments (observations and sampling). The goal is to provide insights into how these stressors may impact bee populations in a rapidly changing world.
Collaborators: Dr. Panagiotis Theodorou (MLU Halle), Prof. Dr. Robert Paxton (MLU Halle), and Prof. Dr. Erhard Strohm (UR)
Recent publications
Laußer, S. and Kurze, C. (2025). Impact of thermal stress during pupal development in a key pollinator. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, in press, doi: doi.org 10.1098/rspb.2025.2029
Wögler, L. & Kurze, C. (2025). Experimental short-term heatwaves negatively impact body weight gain and survival during larval development in Bombus terrestris L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Biology Open 14. doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/bio.061781 (externer Link, öffnet neues Fenster)
Theodorou, P., Kühn, O., Baltz, L. M., Wild, C., Rasti, S. L., Bucksch, C. R., Strohm, E., Paxton, R.J., & Kurze, C. (2022). Bumble bee colony health and performance vary widely across the urban ecosystem. Journal of Animal Ecology, 91(10), 2135-2148. doi: 10.1111/1365-2656.13797 (externer Link, öffnet neues Fenster)
Host manipulation & disease transmission
I am fascinated by how diseases spread within social groups, how parasites manipulate their hosts to enhance transmission, and how hosts evolve counter-adaptations in response.
However, due to time constraints, my transmission project in ants has been temporarily paused but will be resumed soon.
Disease transmission dynamics
While group living enhances individual fitness, it also increases the risk of disease transmission. Despite our understanding of how group size, built environment, and social interactions influence disease transmission in humans has advanced, much of the existing research is correlational. To address this gap, I conducted my largest and most challenging experiment to date during my Feodor Lynen fellowship *(funded by the Alexander von Humboldt foundation)*. I have studied the spatial spread and transmission of a GFP-labeled fungal pathogen in 108 black carpenter ant nests as a model system. With invaluable support from my collaborators Dr. Danny Ziyi Chen (University of Notre Dame), Dr. Yizhe Zhang (Nanjing University), we tracked individual movements and their trophallaxis (mouth-to-mouth food sharing) behaviour by training a deep learning algorithm. This allows us to relate spore spread within the nest and transmission between individuals based on movement patterns and social network data. My goal is to provide insights that will enhance our ability to predict transmission dynamics in more complex scenarios.
Collaborators: Prof. Dr. David Hughes (Penn State University), Prof. Dr. Ephraim Hanks (Penn State University), Prof. Dr. Danny Ziyi Chen (University of Notre Dame), Dr. Yizhe Zhang (Nanjing University)
Previous projects During my PhD at Molecular Ecology Lab (Prof. Dr. Dr. hc Robin F.A. Moritz, MLU Halle), I investigated the molecular interplay between the intestinal parasite *Nosema ceranae* and its honeybee host, Apis mellifera. Following that, I contributed to a field study on the Zombie ant fungus (Ophiocordyceps) in Brazil as PostDoc at the Hughes lab (Penn State University).
Supporting urban pollinator biodiversity
Our ongoing project aims to enhance park plantings in a cost-neutral way to boost pollinator biodiversity in Regensburg. This initiative is a partnership with Prof. Dr. Tomer Czaczkes (FU Berlin) and the Stadtgartenamt Regensburg.
Recent publications
Czaczkes, T. J., Breuss, C., & Kurze, C. (2024). High variability in the attractiveness of municipally-planted decorative plants to insects. PeerJ, 12, e17762. doi: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17762 (externer Link, öffnet neues Fenster)
Collaborations
Ongoing collaborations: Prof. Dr. Tomer Czaczkes (FU Berlin), Prof. Dr. Erhard Strohm (UR), Prof. Dr. Lena Wilfert (University Ulm), Prof. Dr. David Hughes (Penn State University), Prof. Dr. Ephraim Hanks (Penn State University), Prof. Dr. Danny Ziyi Chen (University of Notre Dame), Dr. Yizhe Zhang (Nanjing University), Prof. Dr. Tom Wenseleers (KU Leuven), Prof. Dr. Guntima Suwannapong (Burapha University)
Previous collaborations: Dr. Panagiotis Theodorou (MLU Halle), Prof. Dr. Boris Baer (CIBER/UWA, now UC Riverside), Dr. Ryan Dosselli (CIBER/UWA), Dr. Yves Le Conte (INRA Avignon), Dr. Per Kryger (Aarhus University), Dr. Janina Kleemann (MLU Halle), Prof. Dr. Christina Fürst (MLU Halle), Dr. Nina E. Jenkins (Penn State University), Dr. Thomas Müller (Universitätsklinikum Halle), Dr. Christopher Mayack (now USDA ARS), Prof. Gabriele I. Stangl (MLU Halle)