Rate My Professor Gerhard Koertner

Dr Gerhard Koertner is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Environmental and Rural Science at the University of New England, Armidale, Australia. His research specializations encompass behavioural and physiological ecology, with a focus on thermoregulation, torpor, hibernation, activity patterns, and energetics in free-ranging mammals such as marsupials and bats. He is an associate member of the Centre for Behavioural and Physiological Ecology at the University of New England, where studies explore animal adaptations to extreme environments, climate change effects, foraging ecology, reproductive behaviour, and biophysical modelling for wildlife performance and population viability. Koertner employs field techniques including biotelemetry, respirometry, and microclimate measurements to quantify physiological responses in natural settings.

Koertner's academic career features long-term contributions to wildlife research at the University of New England and prior roles with the New South Wales Department of Environment. His publications have advanced knowledge of energy conservation mechanisms and their conservation implications. Key works include 'The temporal organization of daily torpor and hibernation' (Körtner and Geiser, 2000), 'Torpor and activity patterns in free-ranging sugar gliders' (Körtner and Geiser, 2000), 'The immediate impact of 1080 aerial baiting to control wild dogs' (Körtner et al., 2005), 'Activity and torpor in two sympatric Australian desert marsupials' (Körtner et al., 2011), 'Summer and winter torpor use by a free-ranging marsupial' (Turner et al., 2012, with Körtner), 'Shallow torpor expression in free-ranging common hamsters' (Siutz et al., 2018, with Koertner), 'Investigation of the temporal roaming behaviour of free-roaming dogs' (Maher et al., 2019, with Koertner), and 'Hibernation and daily torpor in Australian and New Zealand bats' (Geiser et al., 2022, with Koertner). These papers, often in collaboration with experts like Fritz Geiser, demonstrate impacts on understanding heterothermy and wildlife management.