Applied Zoology and Nature Conservation

The research group “Applied Zoology and Conservation” uses an integrative approach, combining behavioral, ecological, and molecular methods to investigate questions at the interface of evolutionary, behavioral, and conservation biology. Currently, we mainly study bats and species interacting with them, but our research is not restricted to a specific group of animals. Research interests include the causes and consequences of sociality (incl. cooperative behavior and host-parasite interactions), mate and habitat choice, dispersal, as well as applied and basic animal conservation. In the field, we apply automatic monitoring of animals marked with PIT-tags, radio-telemetry, thermography, and infrared-video. Genetic methods include analyses of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA microsatellites and sequences. We also use in vivo magnet resonance imaging to analyze the brain structures of our study animals.

• Conservation Biology
• Cooperation, Coordination, and Cognition in Animal Groups
• Co-evolution of Host-Parasite Systems
• Evolution of Social and Mating Systems
• Mutualistic Interactions between Bats and Pitcher Plants
• Socio-, Conservation, and Population Genetics