Tanzania
EDUCATION
B.S. in Forestry Science and Forest Ecology,Georg-August-University, 2004. (Germany)
M.S. in Tropical and International Forestry,
Georg-August-University, 2006. (Germany)
Georg-August-University, 2011. (Germany)
TEACHING
- Techniques of Wildlife Management
- Community Wildlife Management
- Wildlife Management at Georg-August-University Göttingen, Germany
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
- Reviewer for African Journal of Ecology (Member of the International Reviewer Panel), Biodiversity and Conservation, Czech Science Foundation, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, European Journal of Wildlife Research, Mammalian Biology, Philosophical Transactions B, Wiley-Blackwell.
FACULTY PROFILE
Christian Kiffner teaches courses in wildlife management. He obtained a B.sc and a M.sc degree in Forestry Sciences from the University of Göttingen, Germany and studied one semester “International Nature Conservation (M.sc)” in Lincoln, New Zealand. He obtained his Phd degree in Forest Zoology from the University of Göttingen, Germany. Before joining the SFS team as a lecturer, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Davis.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
I’m broadly interested in wildlife ecology, management and conservation. His research interests can be grouped into the following subjects. (1) Ranging behavior of animals, (2) feeding ecology of large carnivores, (3) improving methods to monitor animal abundance, (4) improving sustainable wildlife management, (5) determinants of parasite infections in animals and (6) dynamics of zoonotic diseases.
RESEARCH PROJECTS
Projects prior to SFS
For my Master-thesis, I have been involved in landscape scale assessments of large wildlife species (herbivores and carnivores) in the Katavi-Rukwa ecosystem in western Tanzania.
For my Phd thesis, I investigated the ecology of tick-borne encephalitis virus in Germany and worked on tick-parasitism in wildlife (mainly rodents and roe deer).
I was also involved in several smaller projects including investigations into the feeding ecology of large carnivores (red fox, lynx, wolf), patterns, determinants and consequences of bushmeat consumption and hunting in Western (Cameroon) and Eastern (Tanzania) Africa. Recently, I focused on how to improve wildlife monitoring schemes in sub-Saharan Africa
GRANTS AND AWARDS
- DAAD postdoc stipend
- DAAD stipend for study program in New Zealand
- Waihora price for the conservation of wetlands
PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS (last updated August 2011)
Peer-reviewed journals (published, papers in review not lsited: # denotes graduate student / intern, *denotes undergraduate)
1. Kiffner C., Vor T., Hagedorn P., Niedrig M. & Rühe F. (2011): Determinants of tick-borne encephalitis virus antibody presence in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) sera. Medical and Veterinary Entomology (doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2915.2011.00961.x).
2. Achazi K., Ruzek D., Donoso-Mantke O., Schlegel M., Ali H.S., Wenk M., Schmidt-Chanasit J., Ohlmeyer L., Rühe F., Vor T., Kiffner C., Kallies R., Ulrich R. & Niedrig M. (2011) Rodents as sentinels for the prevalence of tick-borne encephalitis virus. Vector-borne and zoonotic Diseases 11, 641-647 (doi: 10.1089/vbz.2010.0236).
3. Kiffner C., Lödige C.#, Alings M.*, Vor T. & Rühe F. (2011): Body-mass or sex-biased tick parasitism in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus)? A GAMLSS approach. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 25, 39-45 (doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2915.2010.00929.x).
4. Kiffner C., Lödige C.#, Alings M.*, Vor T. & Rühe F. (2011): Attachment site selection of ticks on roe deer, Capreolus capreolus. Experimental and Applied Acarology 53, 79-94 (doi: 10.1007/s10493-010-9378-4).
5. Kiffner C., Vor T., Hagedorn P, Niedrig M. & Rühe F. (2011): Factors affecting patterns of tick parasitism on forest rodents in tick-borne encephalitis risk areas, Germany. Parasitology Research 108, 323–335 (doi: 10.1007/s00436-010-2065-x).
6. Kiffner C., Zucchini W., Schomaker P., Vor T., Hagedorn P, Niedrig M. & Rühe F. (2010): Determinants of tick-borne encephalitis in counties of southern Germany, 2001-2008. International Journal of Health Geographics 9, 42 (doi: 10.1186/1476-072X-9-42).
7. Kiffner C., Lödige C.#, Alings M.*, Vor T. & Rühe F. (2010): Abundance estimation of Ixodes ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) on roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). Experimental and Applied Acarology 52, 73-84 (doi: 10.1007/s10493-010-9341-4). [pdf]
8. Vor T., Kiffner C., Hagedorn P., Niedrig M. & Rühe F. (2010): Tick burden on European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.). Experimental and Applied Acarology 51, 405-417 (doi: 10.1007/s10493-010-9337-0).
9. Waltert M., Chuwa M. & Kiffner C. (2009): An assessment of the puku (Kobus vardonii Livingstone 1857) population at Lake Rukwa, Tanzania. African Journal of Ecology 47, 688-692 (doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2028.2008.01024.x).
10. Waltert M., Meyer B. & Kiffner C. (2009): Habitat availability, hunting or poaching: what affects distribution and density of large mammals in western Tanzanian woodlands? African Journal of Ecology 47, 737-746 (doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2028.2009.01080.x).
11. Kiffner C. (2009): Coincidence or evidence: Was the sabretooth cat Smilodon social? Biology Letters 5(4), 561-562 (doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.0008).
12. Kiffner C., Meyer B., Mühlenberg M. & Waltert M. (2009): Plenty of prey, few predators: what limits lions in Katavi National Park, western Tanzania? Oryx 43(1), 52-59 (doi: 10.1017/S0030605307002335).
13. Kiffner C., Meyer B. Waltert M. & Mühlenberg M. (2008): Response of lions (Panthera leo LINNAEUS 1758) and spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta ERXLEBEN 1777) to sound playbacks. African Journal of Ecology 46, 223-226 (doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2028.2007.00813.x).
14. Rühe F., Ksinsik M. & Kiffner C. (2008): Conversion factors in carnivore scat analysis: Sources of bias. Wildlife Biology 14(4), 500-506 (doi: 10.2981/0909-6396-14.4.500).
15. Kiffner C., Roessiger E., Trissl O., Schulz R. & Rühe F. (2008): Probability of recent bark stripping damage by Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) on Norway Spruce (Picea abies) in a low mountain range in Germany – a preliminary analysis. Silva Fennica 42(1), 125-134.
Edited publications, including technical publications and theses
1. Reinecke H, Blum L, Thißen I, Meissner M & Kiffner C. (2011) Local convex hull – a modern home range size estimation method. Tagungsband zum 5. Rotwildsymposium, 298-303. [In German]
2. Kiffner, C. (2010) “Surveillance of tick-parasitized voles, mice and roe deer:
arboviral infection rates in relation to population densities and host characteristics”. Phd thesis, University of Göttingen, Germany.
3. Kiffner, C. (2008, printed in 2010): African lions and the trophy hunting dilemma. Endangered Species UPDATE 25(1), 3-8.
4. Ulrich R., Schlegel M., Mertens M., Groschup M.H., Schmidt-Chanasit J., Jacob J., Freise J., Pelz H.-J., Wenk M., Thiel J., Triebenbacher C., Schex S., Plenge-Bönig A., Schmolz E., Kurth A., Krüger F., Ansoge H., Rühe F., Kiffner C., Gerwin W., Wegener W., Müller J., Bemman M., Wolf R., Otto L.-F., Oehme R., Pfeffer M., Heckel G. & Essbauer S. (2009): Netzwerk “Nagetier-übertragene Pathogene”: Monitoring von Hantavirus-Infektionen in Deutschland [Network “Rodent-borne pathogens”: Monitoring of hantavirus infections in Germany]. Beiträge zur Jagd- und Wildforschung 34, 229-250. [In German].
5. Kiffner C. & Waltert M. (2009): Wildlife Population assessments in the Katavi Ecosystem. Miombo. The newsletter of the Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (WCST), 34, 1, 3-4, 8.
6. Kiffner C. (2006) The use of a playback survey to estimate African lion (Panthera leo) and spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) densities: methodological aspects and implications for the management of lions. MSc thesis, Georg-August University, Go¨ttingen, Germany.
7. Kiffner C., Bertram A., Derwisch S., Englert F., Grote S, Kaiser S., Nebel A, Neusel B., Schneider E.-M. & Schumacher N. (2005) Cost-benefit analysis of “Rainforestation farming“ in Leyte Island, Philippines.
8. Kiffner C. (2002): Wild Success – Umfurudzi Wildlife Survey. Wildlife Zimbabwe, 108(2002/2), 8.
Presentations
1. Kiffner C., Vor T., Hagedorn P., Niedrig M. & Rühe F. (2010) Tick-borne encephalitis virus antibody prevalence in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) sera. In: National Symposium on zoonoses research (Eds. National Research Platform for Zoonoses), p. 217. Poster presentation.
2. Kiffner C., Meyer B., Mühlenberg M. & Waltert M. (2010): Plenty of prey, few predators: what limits lions (Panthera leo) in Katavi National Park, western Tanzania? In: Sustainable Conservation: Bridging the gap between disciplines. (Eds. B.-E. Saether & G. Rosenquist), p. 27. Poster presentation.
3. Waltert M., Meyer B. & Kiffner C. (2010): Habitat availability, hunting or poaching: What affects distribution and density of large mammals in western Tanzanian woodlands? In: Sustainable Conservation: Bridging the gap between disciplines. (Eds. B.-E. Saether & G. Rosenquist), p. 16. Oral presentation by MW.
4. Kiffner C., Vor T., Hufert F.T., Dobler G. &Rühe F. (2009) Numerical response of ticks in relation to small mammal densities. In: National Symposium on zoonoses research (Eds. National Research Platform for Zoonoses), p. 85. Oral presentation by FR.
5. Rühe F., Vor T., Kiffner C., Niedrig M. & Hufert F.T. (2009) Tick burden on European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.). In: National Symposium on zoonoses research (Eds. National Research Platform for Zoonoses), p. 167. Poster presentation.
6. Kiffner C., Vor T. & Rühe F. (2009): Numerical response of ticks in relation to small mammal densities. In: X International Jena Symposium on tick-borne diseases (formerly IPS) - Prevention (Eds. J. Süss & O. Kahl), p. 36. Oral presentation.
7. Vor T., Kiffner C. & Rühe F. (2009): Tick burden on roe deer (Capreolus
capreolus L.). In: X International Jena Symposium on tick-borne diseases (formerly IPS) -Prevention (Eds. J. Süss & O. Kahl), p. 97. Poster presentation.
8. Kiffner C., Meyer B., Waltert M. & Mühlenberg M. (2006): Experiences with a playback technique to monitor lions (Panthera leo) and spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) in Katavi National Park, western Tanzania. In: 19th Annual Conference of the Society for Tropical Ecology (GTÖ) Connecting microbes, plants, animals and human impact (Eds. J. Berger, B. Büdel, M. Lakatos, S. Laube, B. Weber & R. Wirth), p.176. Poster presentation.
9. Kiffner C., Meyer B., Waltert M. & Mühlenberg M. (2005): Establishment of a carnivore monitoring system: Experiences with playback call-ins in Katavi National Park, Tanzania. In: The Fifth TAWIRI Annual Scientific Conference People and Wildlife: Promoting Conservation while balancing needs. (Eds.: J. Keyuu, E. Batamuzi, B. Mutayoba & D. Mpanuji), p. 25. Oral presentation.
