2011
Award Recipient: Priv. Doz. Dr. Hinrich Martin

The 2011 Hans Löhrl Prize was awarded to Priv. Doz. Dr. Hinrich Martin Schaefer for his research on the behavior and ecological interactions of fruit-eating birds.

The breadth of his work on this topic is impressive. Two main areas of focus can be identified: on the one hand, the mechanisms and ecological conditions governing visual signals from plants, and on the other, the role of fruit constituents. Both aspects are interrelated, and Martin Schaefer integrates them from an evolutionary perspective. A book on the general issue of communication between animals and plants serves as a preliminary conclusion to this topic.

Dr. Schaefer gained his insights through extensive field observations and experiments as well as laboratory studies, and he has a thorough command of the theoretical foundations of his field. Among other things, he was able to demonstrate how plants make their fruits highly visible to songbirds by utilizing secondary structures and exploiting the songbirds’ ability to see ultraviolet light. His experiments also clarified the different roles of chromatic and achromatic contrasts in avian perception and drew the attention of the scientific community to the importance of anthocyanins.

In true ethological fashion, he also investigated the role of innate and acquired information in birds’ selection of specific fruits. Although birds were the starting point for his work, Dr. Schaefer expanded his perspective to include other interesting problems in communication between plants and animals and, for example, contributed new insights into the functional role of autumn coloration.

At this point, however, his commitment to bird conservation should also be mentioned, to which he contributed through research on highly endangered Neotropical species.