Disease ecology, animal sociality, behavioral ecology

M.Sc., Universität Konstanz

Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin

How do animals change their behavior in response to infection and how does this affect their fitness and the fitness of their conspecifics?

 What are the social costs and benefits of behaving sick?

 How do infection-induced behaviors scale up to affect group or population level transmission dynamics?

 How do pathogens manipulate host social behaviors?

 What are the behavioral contact patterns between species that facilitate cross-species transmission?

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Cárdenas-Canales EM*, Stockmaier S*, Cronin E, Rocke T, Osorio JE, Carter GG (2022). Social effects of rabies infection in male vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus). Biology letters. [find here] (*co-first authors)

Stockmaier S, Stroeymeyt N, Shattuck EC, Hawley DM, Ancel Meyers L, Bolnick DI (2021). Infectious diseases and social distancing in nature. Science. [find here]

​Ripperger S, Stockmaier S, Carter GG (2020). Tracking sickness effects on social encounters via continuous proximity-sensing in wild vampire bats. Behavioral Ecology. [find here]

Stockmaier S, Bolnick DI, Page RA, Josic D, Carter GG (2020). Immune challenged vampire bats produce fewer contact calls. Biology letters. [find here]

Stockmaier S, Bolnick DI, Page RA, Carter GG (2020). Sickness effects on social interactions depend on the type of behaviour and relationship. Journal of Animal Ecology. [find here]

Stockmaier S, Bolnick DI, Page RA, Carter GG (2018). An immune challenge reduces social grooming in vampire bats. Animal Behavior. [find here]

Stockmaier S, Dechmann DKN, Page RA, O’Mara MT (2015). No fever and leucocytosis in response to a lipopolysaccharide challenge in an insectivorous bat. Biology Letters. [find here]