Bettina Almasi

Contact

Function

Expertise

Current Projects

• Interactions of genetic, maternal and early developmental effects on stress sensitivity, personality and survival of offspring
• Habitat-use of barn owls during the yearly cycle
• Effects of stress on the barn owl (Tyto alba) and the link to melanin-based coloration
• Stress-sensitivity of the HPA and the link to eumelanin-based coloration in different bird species

Co-operations

Prof. Dr. Alex Roulin, University of Lausanne, Switzerland

CV

2015 – current	Researcher at the Swiss Ornithological Institute
2010 – 2014	Post-doc at the Swiss Ornithological Institute, Sempach in the Swiss NF-Project “Interactions of genetic, maternal and early developmental effects on stress sensitivity, personality and survival of offspring”
2009 – 2011	Post-graduate diploma in Applied Statistics at the ETH Zürich Organisator: Prof. Dr. W. Stahel
Oct – Nov 2009	Teaching fellow for master students at the APLORI Institute, Nigeria
July 2008 - 2009	Post-doc at the Swiss Ornithological Institute, Sempach, Switzerland
2004 – 2008	PhD in behavioural endocrinology with PD. Dr. L. Jenni, Swiss Ornithological Institute, Sempach, Prof. Dr. L. Keller, Zoological Museum, University of Zurich, and Prof. Dr. A. Roulin, University of Lausanne, Switzerland on “Effects of stress on the barn owl (Tyto alba) and the link to melanin-based coloration”
2003 – 2004	Master thesis with Prof. Dr. U. Reyer, Zoological Institute, University of Zurich and PD. Dr. L. Jenni, Swiss Ornithological Institute on “Trans-Sahara bird migration: Weather dependence, stopover and refuelling strategies”
2001 – 2004	Undergraduate studies in zoology at the University of Zurich, Switzerland
1999 – 2001	Undergraduate studies in biology at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland

Publications

Peer-reviewed Publications

• Almasi, B., Béziers, P., Roulin, A., Jenni, L., 2015. Agricultural land use and human presence around breeding sites increase stress-hormone levels and decrease body mass in barn owl nestlings. Oecologia 179, 89-101.
• Almasi, B., Roulin, A., 2015. Signalling value of maternal and paternal melanism in the barn owl: implication for the resolution of the lek paradox. Biol J. Linn. Soc. 115, 376-390.
• Jenni, L., Keller, N., Almasi, B., Duplain, J., Homberger, B., Lanz, M., Korner-Nievergelt, F., Schaub, M., Jenni-Eiermann, S., 2015. Transport and release procedures in reintroduction programs: stress and survival in grey partridges. Anim Conserv 18, 62-72.
• Chausson, A., Henry, I., Ducret, B., Almasi, B., Roulin, A., 2014. Twany Owl Strix aluco as an indicator of Barn Owl Tyto alba breeding biology and the effect of winter severity on Barn Owl reproduction. Ibis 156, 433-441.
• Chausson, A., Henry, I., Almasi, B., and Roulin, A. 2014. Barn Owl (Tyto alba) breeding biology in relation to breeding season climate. J. Ornithol. 155: 273-281.
• Almasi, B., Roulin, A., Jenni, L. 2013. Corticosterone shifts reproductive behaviour towards self-maintenance in the barn owl and is linked to melanin-based coloration in females. Horm. Behav. 64: 161-171.
• Dreiss, A.N., Calcagno, M., Van den Brink, V., Laurent, A., Almasi, B., Jenni, L., Roulin, A. 2013. The vigilance components of begging and sibling competition. J. Avian Biol. 44: 359-368.
• Almasi, B., Roulin, A., Korner-Nievergelt, F., Jenni-Eiermann, S., Jenni, L., 2012a. Coloration signals the ability to cope with elevated stress hormones: effects of corticosterone on growth of barn owls are associated with melanism. J. Evol. Biol. 25, 1189-1199.
• Almasi, B., Rettenbacher, S., Müller, C., Wagner, H., Brill, S., Jenni, L., 2012b. Maternal corticosterone is transferred into the egg yolk. Gen. Comp. Endocr. 178, 139-144.
• Ruppli, C.A., Almasi, B., Dreiss, A.N., Battesti, M., Jenni, L., Roulin, A., 2012. Corticosterone promotes scramble competition over sibling negotiation in barn owl nestlings (Tyto alba). Evolutionary Biology 39, 348-358.
• Jenni-Eiermann, S., Almasi, B., Maggini, I., Salewski, V., Bruderer, B., Liechti, F., Jenni, L., 2011. Numbers, foraging and refuelling of passerine migrants at a stopover site in the western Sahara: diverse strategies to cross a desert. Journal of Ornithology 152, 113-128.
• Roulin, A., Almasi, B., Meichtry-Stier, K.S., Jenni, L., 2011. Eumelanin- and pheomelanin-based colour advertise resistance to oxidative stress in opposite ways. J. Evol. Biol. 24, 2241-2247.
• Almasi, B., Jenni, L., Jenni-Eiermann, S., Roulin, A., 2010. Regulation of stress response is heritable and functionally linked to melanin-based coloration. J. Evol. Biol. 23, 987-996.
• Roulin, A., Almasi, B., Jenni, L., 2010. Temporal variation in glucocorticoid levels during the resting phase is associated in opposite way with maternal and paternal melanic coloration. J. Evol. Biol. 23, 2046-2053.
• Arlettaz, R., Krähenbühl, M., Almasi, B., Roulin, A., Schaub, M., 2010. Wildflower areas within revitalized agricultural matrices boost small mammal populations but not breeding barn owls. J. Ornithol. 151, 553-564.
• Dreiss, A.N., Henry, I., Ruppli, C.A., Almasi, B., Roulin, A., 2010. Darker eumelanic barn owls better withstand food depletion through resistance to food deprivation and lower appetite. Oecologia 164, 65-71.
• Almasi, B., Roulin, A., Jenni-Eiermann, S., Breuner, C.W., Jenni, L., 2009. Regulation of free corticosterone and CBG capacity under different environmental conditions in altricial nestlings. Gen. Comp. Endocr. 164, 117-124.
• Müller, C., Almasi, B., Roulin, A., Breuner, C.W., Jenni-Eiermann, S., Jenni, L., 2009. Effects of corticosterone pellets on baseline and stress-induced corticosterone and corticosteroid-binding-globulin. Gen. Comp. Endocr. 160, 59-66.
• Stier, K.S., Almasi, B., Gasparini, J., Piault, R., Roulin, A., Jenni, L., 2009. Effects of corticosterone on innate and humoral immune functions and oxidative stress in barn owl nestlings. J. Exp. Biol. 212, 2085-2091.
• Almasi, B., Roulin, A., Jenni-Eiermann, S., Jenni, L., 2008. Parental investment and its sensitivity to corticosterone is linked to melanin-based coloration in barn owls. Horm. Behav. 54, 217-223.
• Roulin, A., Almasi, B., Rossi-Pedruzzi, A., Ducrest, A.L., Wakamatsu, K., Miksik, I., Blount, J.D., Jenni-Eiermann, S., Jenni, L., 2008. Corticosterone mediates the condition-dependent component of melanin-based coloration. Anim. Behav. 75, 1351-1358.
• Salewski, V., Almasi, B., Schlageter, A., 2006. Nectarivory of Palearctic migrants at a stopover site in the Sahara. British Birds 99, 299-305.
• Salewski, V., Almasi, B., Heuman, A., Thoma, M., Schlageter, A., 2007. Agonistic behaviour of Palaearctic passerine migrants at a stopover site suggests interference competition. Ostrich 78, 349-355.
• Kerth, G., Almasi, B., Ribi, N., Thiel, D., Lüpold, S., 2003. Social interactions among wild female Bechstein's bats (Myotis bechsteinii) living in a maternity colony. Acta Eth. 5, 107-114.

Books

• Korner-Nievergelt, F., Roth, T., von Felten, S., Guélat, J., Almasi, B., Korner-Nievergelt, P., 2015. Bayesian data analysis in Ecology using linear models with R, BUGS, and Stan. Academic Press.

Others

• Jenni-Eiermann, S., Almasi, B., Müller, C., Schmid, B., Roulin, A., and Jenni, L.2014.Die Modulation der Stressantwort bei Vögeln und ihre Bedeutung für den Naturschutz. Ornithol. Beob. 111:107-120.
• Almasi, B., 2008. Effects of stress on the barn owl (Tyto alba) and the link to melanin-based coloration. Ph.D thesis, University of Zürich, Switzerland.