Rate My Professor Zenon Czenze

Dr. Zenon Czenze is a Senior Lecturer in Vertebrate Zoology in the School of Environmental and Rural Science at the University of New England. He holds a BSc (Hons) from Saint Mary’s University (2011), an MSc from the University of Winnipeg (2013), and a PhD from the University of Auckland (2018). After completing his doctorate, he undertook postdoctoral research at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. He joined the University of New England as a Lecturer in the Centre for Behavioural and Physiological Ecology in June 2022 and was subsequently promoted to Senior Lecturer. Dr. Czenze serves as Director of the Centre for Behavioural and Physiological Ecology and coordinates several programs, including the Bachelor of Zoology, Diploma in Zoological Studies, and units such as ZOOL111 Zoology in Practice I and Conservation Biology (EM553).

As a comparative ecophysiologist, Dr. Czenze focuses on mammals and birds, examining how elements of their natural history and ecology—such as roost preferences, drinking behaviour, and diet—influence thermoregulation, measured through physiological techniques. His studies primarily involve bats, birds, gliders, and small terrestrial marsupials, conducted in field and laboratory settings. Research themes include the impacts of heatwaves on small endotherms, thermal roost preferences in captive and free-ranging endotherms, and the role of bats in natural pest control within agriculture. Notable publications comprise “Thrifty females, frisky males: winter energetics of hibernating bats from a cold climate” (2017), “Warming up and shipping out: arousal and emergence timing in hibernating little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus)” (2015), “Adaptive variation in the upper limits of avian body temperature” (2022), “Home is where the heat is: Thermoregulation of European bats inhabiting artificial roosts and the threat of heat waves” (2022), and “Caves, crevices and cooling capacity: Roost microclimate predicts heat tolerance in bats” (2021). His work has accumulated over 1,000 citations on Google Scholar, spanning physiological ecology, behavioural ecology, thermal biology, and climate change. In 2023, Dr. Czenze received the Wine Australia Award under the Science and Innovation Awards for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry for his research on bats reducing pesticide use in vineyards. He collaborates with Local Land Services, Indigenous groups, government, and industry, and has presented at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.