Introduction

As the head of the Department of Zoology my task is to coordinate the research zoology and biology programs at the University. In addition, I am teaching behavioural ecology, give journal club seminars and organize the zoology as profession course. My main area of interest is the evolution of breeding systems, and especially parental care systems. I conduct my studies on shorebirds and a beetle species.

Main research areas:

• Evolution of mating systems and parental care
• Cooperation and conflict between parents over parental care
• Studying the behaviour, ecology and conservation of the Kentish plover
• Life history consequences of nest site selection in shorebirds
• Evolution of sex rolesElőnézet (megnyitás új ablakban)
• Breeding behaviour of the beetle Lethrus apterus

Thesis supervision

PhD students: 2

MSc students: 2

BSc students: 2

TDK theses: 1

Thesis topics

The relationship between animal personalities and nest site selection

Sexual conflict over nest site selection

The influence of social environment on parental behaviour

Progress

2018 – present Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine

2017 – 2018 Associate Professor, Department of Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine

2015 – 2016 Senior Research Fellow, Department of Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine

2015 Habilitation

2014 – 2015 Biologist, Department of Ecology, ÁOTK, Szent István University

2012 – 2014 Scientific associate, MTA-DE “Lendület” Behavioural Ecology Research Group

2011 – 2012 Research associate, Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University

2007 – 2010 Zoltán Magyary Postdoctoral Scholarship Holder

2005 – 2007 Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, UK

2004 – 2005 Royal Society/NATO Postdoctoral Fellow

2002 – 2004 Part-time lecturer, Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen

1996 – 1999 PhD student, Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen

Publications (Top10)  MTMT | Google Scholar | ORCID

Fresneau, N., Pipoly, I., Gigler, D., Kosztolányi, A., Székely, T., Liker, A., 2024. The evolution of sex roles: the importance of ecology and social environment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 121, e2321294121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2321294121

McDonald, G.C., Cuthill, I.C., Székely, T., Kosztolányi, A., 2023. Remating opportunities and low costs underlie maternal desertion. Evolution, 77, 97–109. https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpac020

Eberhart-Phillips, L.J., Küpper, C., Carmona-Isunza, M.C., Vincze, O., Zefania, S., Cruz-López, M., Kosztolányi, A., Miller, T.E.X., Barta, Z., Cuthill, I.C., Burke, T., Székely, T., Hoffman, J.I., Krüger, O., 2018. Demographic causes of adult sex ratio variation and their consequences for parental cooperation. Nature Communications, 9, 1651. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03833-5

Rosa, M.E., Barta, Z., Fülöp, A., Székely, T., Kosztolányi, A., 2017. The effects of adult sex ratio and density on parental care in Lethrus apterus (Coleoptera, Geotrupidae). Animal Behaviour, 132, 181–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.07.023

Vincze, O., Kosztolányi, A., Barta, Z., Küpper, C., Alrashidi, M., Amat, J.A., Argüelles-Ticó, A., Burns, F., Cavitt, J., Conway, W.C., Cruz-López, M., Desucre-Medrano, A.E., Dos Remedios, N., Figuerola, J., Galindo-Espinosa, D., García-Peña, G.E., Gómez Del Angel, S., Gratto-Trevor, C., Jonsson, P., Lloyd, P., Montalvo, T., Parra, J.E., Pruner, R., Que, P., Liu, Y., Saalfeld, S.T., Schulz, R., Serra, L., St Clair, J.J.H., Stenzel, L.E., Weston, M.A., Yasué, M., Zefania, S., Székely, T., 2017. Parental cooperation in a changing climate: fluctuating environments predict shifts in care division. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 26, 347–358. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12540

Bulla, M., Valcu, M., Dokter, A.M., Dondua, A.G., Kosztolányi, A., Rutten, A.L., Helm, B., Sandercock, B.K., Casler, B., Ens, B.J., … Kempenaers, B., 2016. Unexpected diversity in socially synchronized rhythms of shorebirds. Nature, 540, 109–113. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature20563

Vincze, O., Székely, T., Küpper, C., AlRashidi, M., Amat, J.A., Argüelles-Ticó, A., Burgas, D., Burke, T., Cavitt, J., Figuerola, J., Shobrak, M., Montalvo, T., Kosztolányi, A., 2013. Local environment but not genetic differentiation influences biparental care in ten plover populations. PLoS ONE, 8, e60998. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0060998

Kosztolányi, A., Barta, Z., Küpper, C., Székely, T., 2011. Persistence of an extreme male-biased adult sex ratio in a natural population of polyandrous bird. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 24, 1842–1846. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2011.02305.x

Kosztolányi, A., Cuthill, I.C., Székely, T., 2009. Negotiation between parents over care: reversible compensation during incubation. Behavioral Ecology, 20, 446–452. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arn140

Kosztolányi, A., Székely, T., Cuthill, I.C., Yılmaz, K.T., Berberoğlu, S., 2006. Ecological constraints on breeding system evolution: the influence of habitat on brood desertion in Kentish plover. Journal of Animal Ecology, 75, 257–265. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01049.x

(Updated: August 15, 2024)