Dr. Gabriella Krivek
Applied Zoology and Nature Conservation
Soldmannstr. 14
17489 Greifswald
Tel.: +49 (0)3834 420-4358 or 4273
gabriella.krivekuni-greifswaldde
Research Interests
My research focuses on developing and applying automated monitoring tools to study biodiversity at large temporal and spatial scales. By combining ecology with data science, I aim to understand how human-induced environmental change shapes wildlife populations, behavior, and phenology.
For European bats, I use infrared light barriers and camera traps installed at the entrances of hibernation sites to monitor population dynamics and seasonal activity patterns. These methods provide a unique, non-invasive way to record every movement in and out of a site with unprecedented resolution and accuracy. The challenge—and opportunity—lies in translating such “big data” into meaningful ecological insights.
During my PhD, I developed standardized analysis pipelines for light-barrier and camera trap data, and created a deep-learning solution (BatNet) for automated bat species identification from images. These tools enable fine-scale monitoring of bat population dynamics and can help uncover the environmental drivers of hibernation phenology in different bat species.
Currently, as a postdoctoral researcher in the BatTrend project, my main focus is integrating automated monitoring approaches to improve bat population trend assessments in Germany. In parallel, I work with a long-term RFID-logging dataset to study individual-level hibernation phenology and its sensitivity to environmental change.
Publications
Krivek, G., Meier, F., Grosche, L., Kerth, G. , & van Schaik, J. (2025). One Species Hibernates Shorter, the Other Longer: Rapid but Opposing Responses to Warming Climate in Two Sympatric Bat Species. Global Change Biology 31, no. 10: e70531. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70531.
Meier, F., Grosche, L., Krivek, G., Runkel, V., Scheuerlein, A., Kerth, G., & Van Schaik, J. (2025). Automated long‐term monitoring of RFID‐tagged individuals reveals high hibernaculum site fidelity in Daubenton's bats and Natterer's bats. Animal Conservation, 28(3), 401-409. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12992
Krivek, G., Gillert, A., Harder, M., Fritze, M., Frankowski, K., Timm, L., Meyer-Olbersleben, L., Freiherr von Lukas, U., Kerth, G., van Schaik, J. (2023) BatNet: a deep learning-based tool for automated bat species identification from camera trap images. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation. https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rse2.339
Video abstract about BatNet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7Zis3qVimI
Krivek, G., Mahecha, E.P.N., Meier, F., Kerth, G. & van Schaik, J. (2023), Counting in the dark: estimating population size and trends of bat assemblages at hibernacula using infrared light barriers. Animal Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12856
Krivek, G., Schulze, B., Poloskei, P. Z., Frankowski, K., Mathgen, X., Douwes, A., & van Schaik, J. (2022). Camera traps with white flash are a minimally invasive method for long‐term bat monitoring. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1002/rse2.243
Krivek, G., F. V. Florens, C. Baider, V. O. Seegobin, T. Haugaasen (2020). Invasive alien plant control improves foraging habitat quality of a threatened island flying fox, Journal for Nature Conservation 54, 125805. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2020.125805
F.B.V. Florens, C. Baider, V. Marday, G.M.N. Martin, Z. Zmanay, R. Oleksy, G. Krivek, C.E. Vincenot, D. Strasberg, T. Kingston (2017). Disproportionately large ecological role of a recently mass-culled flying fox in native forests of an oceanic island. Journal for Nature Conservation 40, 85-93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2017.10.002