Jenna Kohles

Jenna Kohles is a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies) and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. Her work focuses on how sociality helps animals cope with environmental uncertainty, using biologging technology, prey landscape quantification, and biomarkers for energetic stress in bat populations.

• PhD from University of Konstanz (2024)
• Master in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (2018)
• Bachelor in Wildlife Biology (2015)

Research Interests: Kohles investigates social foraging dynamics, animal societies, and the ecological impacts of ephemeral resources. Her work spans insectivorous and fruit bat populations in Panama and Cyprus, examining how social connections influence foraging efficiency and stress mitigation.

Publication Trends: Recent articles focus on social information use in vultures, biologging precision in bat movement, group facilitation during reproduction, and the effects of habitat management on insect-bat activity patterns. Theoretical contributions include frameworks for predicting social information use based on resource ephemerality.

Scientific Awards & Grants:

• Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute-NOMIS Postdoctoral Fellowship
• DAAD PRIME Postdoctoral Fellowship
• National Geographic Society Level I Grant
• Fulbright Research Fellowship
• Multiple PhD and predoctoral fellowships

Lab Affiliation: Kohles works in the Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies under Dina Dechmann’s mentorship, with long-term collaborations at STRI in Gamboa, Panama.