Illustration of birds in a tree, fish in water, mice on land and flies in air against a landscape at night.

Environment, Genetics and Evolution

In our diverse and ever-changing world, we aim to understand the complex interplay between environment, genetics and evolution. These factors shape all living beings in multiple ways. We investigate questions ranging from the role of single genes to the evolutionary history of entire species. We aim to elucidate how animals deal with challenging environmental conditions and how they adapt to their habitats – an important form of biological intelligence.

The fundaments of life

Genes give us insight into fundamental dynamics of life: they are the basis of behavior, physiology and health and enable animals to adapt to current and long-term conditions. We study these genetic foundations through a wide range of research approaches and methods. We decipher the functions of single genes and their contributions to complex behaviors. For example, we are interested in gene variants, their development in the course of evolution and why they persist to this day.

Evolutionary histories

Genetics allows us to look far back into evolutionary history. We deal with family trees of entire species, but also with the development of intra-species diversity. Examples of this are the evolution of sensory systems or the diversity in appearance and courtship behavior within species. We are interested in evolutionary stories that influence mate choice, mate fidelity or parental care, and in the question why some woodpecker species have lost their sense of taste for sweetness twice in the course of evolution.

Man-made challenges

We also shed light on the effects of human-induced changes on animal behavior and physiology. For example, we were able to show how hormones help birds to adapt to temperature fluctuations or how traffic noise interferes with the song learning of zebra finches. Such fundamental findings could ultimately also nourish ideas to secure a diverse and livable future.