Staff Catalogue

ALEXANDER KIRSCHEL

KIRSCHEL ALEXANDER
22 892660
...
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Department of Biological Sciences
FST 02 - Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, 181
University Campus
Ph.D. (2008) University of California Los Angeles
Postdoctoral Scholar (2008-2009)University of California Los Angeles
Assistant Researcher (2009-2010) University of California Los Angeles
Marie Curie Research Fellow (1/2011-12/2012) University of Oxford
Lecturer (2010-2015) University of Cyprus
Assistant Professor (2015-2020) University of Cyprus
Associate Professor (2020-) University of Cyprus
I study the ecology, behaviour and genomes of birds, with a major focus on closely related species interacting with one another at independent contact zones in sub-Saharan Africa, in order to better understand the factors driving speciation, and the genes underlying key traits.

Magory Cohen, T., Hauber, M., Akriotis, T., Crochet, P-A., Karris, G. Kirschel, A. N. G., Khoury, F., Menchetti, M., Mori, E., Per, E., Reino, L., Saavedra, S., Santana, J., and Dor, R. Accelerated avian invasion into the Mediterranean region endangers biodiversity and mandates international collaboration. Journal of Applied Ecology, in press.

Patchett, R., Styles, P. S., Robins King, J., Kirschel, A. N. G., and Cresswell, W. 2022. Does juvenile dispersal function to locate a future breeding site prior to migration? Current Zoology. https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoac002

Hadjikyriakou, T. G., Rogers, J. and Kirschel, A. N. G. Protecting a heterogeneous landscape supports avian diversity across seasons on a Mediterranean island. Journal of Ornithology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-021-01953-2

Kirschel, A. N. G., Moysi, M., Lukhele, S. M., Sebastianelli, M., Asfaw, T., Hadjioannou, L., Mortega, K. G., Monadjem, A., and Moyle, R. G. 2021. Taxonomic revision of the Red-fronted Tinkerbird Pogoniulus pusillus (Dumont 1816) based on molecular and phenotypic analysis. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 141:428-442.

Lukhele, S. M., Widdows, C., and Kirschel, A. N. G. 2021. Nest provisioning and diet of nestling Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird Pogoniulus bilineatus. African Journal of Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/aje.12927

Papanikolas, N., Hadjikyriakou, T. G., Sebastianelli, M., and Kirschel, A. N. G. 2021. Habitat selection and interspecific competition between Sylvia Warblers in Cyprus following the rapid expansion of a recent colonizer. Avian Conservation and Ecology 16:11. DOI: 10.5751/ACE-01937-160211

Patchett, R., Kirschel, A. N. G., Styles, P., Robins King, J., and Cresswell, W. 2021. Female song in the Cyprus Wheatear Oenanthe cypriaca. Journal of Ornithology 162: 1199-1204. DOI: 10.1007/s10336-021-01902-z

Hellicar, M. A., and Kirschel, A. N. G. 2021. Grazing pressure and the interaction dynamics of the endemic Cyprus Warbler Sylvia melanothorax and its recently colonizing congener   the Sardinian Warbler S. melanocephala. Bird Conservation International 31: 239-254. DOI:10.1017/S0959270920000180

Sebastianelli, M., Blumstein, D. T., and Kirschel, A. N. G. Higher pitched bird song towards the coast supports a role for selection in ocean noise avoidance. Bioacoustics. DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2021.1879680

Pallari, C.Th., Efstathiou, A., Moysi, M., Papanikolas, N., Christodoulou, V., Mazeris, A. Koliou, M. and Kirschel, A. N. G. 2021. Evidence of West Nile Virus seropositivity in wild birds on the island of Cyprus. Comparative Immunology, Microbiology, and Infectious Diseases 74: 101592.

Kirschel, A. N. G., Nwankwo, E. C., Pierce, D., Lukhele, S. M., Moysi, M., Ogolowa, B. O., Hayes, S. C., Monadjem, A., and Brelsford, A. 2020. CYP2J19 mediates carotenoid colour introgression across a natural avian hybrid zone. Molecular Ecology 29: 4970- 4984. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.15691

Sebastianelli, M., Savva, G., Moysi, M., and Kirschel, A. N. G. 2020.Tape lures swell bycatch on a Mediterranean island harbouring illegal bird trapping. Biology Letters 16:20200458.

Kirschel, A. N. G. 2020. Nuptial gift tug-of-war during courtship feeding in the Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird Pogoniulus bilineatus. Malimbus 42:108-111.

Kirschel, A. N. G., Zanti, Z., Harlow, Z. T., Vallejo, E. E., Cody, M. L., and Taylor, C. E. 2020. Females don’t always sing in response to male song, but when they do, they sing to males with higher pitched songs. Animal Behaviour 166: 129-138.

Hadjikyriakou, T. G., Kassinis, N., Skarlatos, D., Charilaou, P., and Kirschel, A. N. G. 2020. Breeding success of Eleonora’s falcon (Falco eleonorae) in Cyprus revisited using survey techniques for cliff-nesting species. Condor 122: 1-13.

Hellicar, M. A., and Kirschel, A. N. G. 2020. Grazing pressure and the interaction dynamics of the endemic Cyprus Warbler Sylvia melanothorax and its recently colonizing congener the Sardinian Warbler S. melanocephala. Bird Conservation International. DOI:10.1017/S0959270920000180

Hadjikyriakou, T. G., Nwankwo, E. C., Virani, M., and Kirschel, A. N. G. 2020. Habitat availability influences migration speed, refuelling patterns and seasonal flyways of a fly- and-forage migrant. Movement Ecology 8:10. DOI: 10.1186/s40462-020-0190-4

Kirschel, A. N. G., Nwankwo, E. C., Seal, N., and Grether, G. F. 2020. Time spent together, and time spent apart affect song, feather color and range overlap in tinkerbirds. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 129: 439-458.

Hadjikyriakou, T. G., Kassara, C., Rene de Roland, L-A., Giokas, S., Tsiopelas, N., Evangelidis, A, Thorstrom, R, and Kirschel, A.N.G. 2020. Phenology, variation in habitat use, and daily activity patterns of Eleonora’s falcon overwintering in Madagascar. Landscape Ecology 35:159-172.

Hellicar, M.A., Honold, J. and Kirschel, A. N. G. 2019. Comparison of land cover and farming intensity based models for mapping High Nature Value farmland in Cyprus. Bird Study 66:317-328.

Kirschel, A. N. G., Seddon, N., and Tobias, J. A. 2019. Range-wide spatial mapping reveals convergent character displacement of bird song. Proceedings of the Royal Society (London) Series B 286:20190443

Peyton, J., Martinou, A. F., Pescott, O., Demetriou, M., Adriaens, T., Arianoutsou, M., Bazos, I., Bean, C., Botham, M. Britton, R., Cervia, J. L., Charilaou, P., Chartosia, N., Dean, H., Delipetrou, P., Dimitriou, A., Dörflinger, G. Fawcett, J., Fyttis, G., Galanidis, A., Galil, B., Hadjikyriakou, T., Hadjistylli, M., Ieronymidou, C., Jimenez, C., Karachle, P., Kassinis, N., Kerametsidis, G., Kirschel, A. N. G., Kleitou, P., Kletou, D., Manolaki, P., Michaelides, N., Mountford, O., Nikolaou, C., Papatheodoulou, A., Payiatas, G., Ribeiro, F., Rorke, S. L., Samuel, Y., Savvidis, P., Schafer, S. M., Tarkan, A. S., Silva-Rocha, I., Top, N., Tricarico, E., Turvey, K., Tziortzis, I., Tzirkalli, E. Verreycken, H.,Winfield, I., Zenetos, A., and Roy, H. E. 2019. Horizon scanning for invasive alien species with the potential to threaten biodiversity and human health on a Mediterranean island. Biological Invasions 6: 2107– 2125.

Nwankwo, E. C., Mortega, K. G., Karageorgos, A., Ogolowa, B. O., Papagregoriou, G., Grether, G. F., Monadjem, A., and Kirschel, A. N. G. 2019. Rampant introgressive hybridization in Pogoniulus tinkerbirds (Piciformes: Lybiidae) despite millions of years of divergence. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 127: 125-142.

Kirschel, A. N. G., Nwankwo, E. C., and Gonzalez, J. C. T. 2018. Investigating the status of the enigmatic White-chested Tinkerbird Pogoniulus makawai using molecular analysis of the type specimen. Ibis 160:673-680

Nwankwo, E. C., Pallari, C. T., Hadjioannou, L., Ioannou, A., Mulwa, R. K., & Kirschel, A. N. G. 2018. Rapid song divergence leads to discordance between genetic distance and phenotypic characters important in reproductive isolation. Ecology and Evolution 8:716- 731

Kassara, C., Gangoso, L., Mellone, U., Piasevoli, G., Hadjikyriakou, T., Tsiopelas, N., Giokas, S., López-López, P., Urios, V., Figuerola, J., Silva, R., Bouten, W., Kirschel, A. N. G., Virani, M., Fiedler, W. Berthold, P., and Gschweng, M. 2017. Current and future suitability of wintering grounds for a long-distance migratory raptor. Scientific Reports 7:8798

Clark, C. J.*, Kirschel, A. N. G.*, Hadjioannou, L., and Prum, R. O. 2016. Smithornis broadbills produce loud wing song by aeroelastic flutter of primary wing feathers. Journal of Experimental Biology 219: 1069-1075. *Co-corresponding authors.

Hadjikyriakou, T. G., and Kirschel, A. N. G. 2016. Video evidence confirms cannibalism in Eleonora’s Falcon. Journal of Raptor Research 50: 220-223

Smith, T. B., Harrigan, R. J., Kirschel, A. N. G., Buermann, W., Saatchi, S. Blumstein, D. T., de   Kort, S. R., and Slabbekoorn, H. 2013. Predicting Bird Song from Space. Evolutionary Applications 6:865-874.

Grether, G. F., Anderson, C. N., Drury, J.P., Kirschel, A. N. G., Losin, N., Okamoto, K., and Peiman, K. 2013. The evolutionary consequences of interspecific aggression. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1289:48-68.

Kirschel, A. N. G., Slabbekoorn, H., Blumstein, D. T., Cohen, R. E., De Kort, S. R., Buermann, W., and Smith, T. B. 2011. Testing alternative hypotheses for evolutionary diversification in an African songbird: Rainforest refugia versus ecological gradients. Evolution 65:3162-3174.

Blumstein D.T, Mennill, D. J., Clemins, P., Girod, L., Yao, K., Patricelli, G., Deppe, J. L., Krakauer, A. H., Clark, C., Cortopassi, K. A., Hanser, S. F., McCowan, B., Mantik Ali, A., and Kirschel, A. N. G. 2011. Acoustic monitoring in terrestrial environments: applications technological considerations, and prospectus. Journal of Applied Ecology 48: 758-767

Kirschel, A. N. G., Cody, M. L., Harlow, Z. T., Promponas, V., Vallejo, E. E., and Taylor, C. E. 2011. Territorial dynamics of Mexican Antthrushes (Formicarius moniliger) revealed by individual recognition of their songs. Ibis 153: 255-268

Collier, T. C., Kirschel, A. N. G., and Taylor, C. E. 2010. Acoustic localization of antbirds in a Mexican rainforest using a wireless sensor network. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 128:182-189.

Kirschel, A. N. G., Blumstein, D. T., and Smith, T. B. 2009. Character displacement of song and morphology in African tinkerbirds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106: 8256-8261

Kirschel, A. N. G., Blumstein, D. T., Cohen, R. E., Buermann, W., Smith, T. B., and Slabbekoorn, H. 2009. Birdsong tuned to the environment: green hylia song varies with elevation, tree cover, and noise. Behavioral Ecology 20:1089-1095.

Trifa, V. M., Kirschel, A. N. G., Taylor, C. E., and Vallejo, E. 2008. Automated species recognition of antbirds in a Mexican rainforest using Hidden Markov Models. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 123:2424-2431