Events at the MPIAB

Winterfest Akademie Schloss Solitude

With "Living in the Interstitium" by Vivek Hari Sridhar
As part of the Akademie Schloss Solitude Winterfest on 1 December, Vivek Hari Sridhar will explore the interface of art-science by engaging artists and scientists to discuss where synergies between these disciplines lie. [more]

From simple, invariant behaviour to complex social populations

Institute Seminar by Daniel Oro
  • Date: Dec 5, 2023
  • Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Daniel Oro
  • Daniel Oro earned his PhD in Biology from the University of Barcelona in 1996. Following this, he undertook post-doctoral research in France (CNRS-Montpellier) and the UK (University of Glasgow). Since 2003, he has held a Professorship with CSIC, the primary research institution in Spain. He established the Population Ecology Group, which brings together researchers from diverse fields with a shared interest in quantitative ecology, evolution, and the conservation of endangered species and ecosystems. Additionally, the group focused on understanding processes and patterns related to population dynamics. All of his former PhD students now hold academic positions in universities and research centers, both in Spain and abroad (Norway, UK). He enjoys visiting other laboratories, and has received two Fulbright fellowships in the USA (at the University of Boulder-Colorado and the University of California-Davis).
  • Location: Hybrid meeting
  • Room: Seminar room MPI-AB Bücklestrasse + Online
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
  • Contact: ukalbitzer@ab.mpg.de
The prevailing perspective on ecological interactions' influence on fitness and ecosystem dynamics has traditionally favoured competition over cooperation, likely influenced by Darwin's theory of natural selection. However, the origin of life was probably shaped only by cooperation, giving rise to the emergence of sociality and the sharing of public information for resource acquisition. Over time ... [more]

From Guessing to Knowing: The Beauty of Physiological Measures

Institute Seminar by Verena Behringer
  • Date: Dec 12, 2023
  • Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Verena Behringer
  • Rooted in the campus of the University of Gießen, my scientific journey commenced with research on the behavioral physiology of apes in the Frankfurt zoos. Following my diploma, I developed a specific interest in stress management by apes. In my PhD project, I used salivary cortisol as a marker and explored hormonal changes in the context of stressful, arousing, and entertaining events. Following this, I moved to the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA), expanded my research on zoo-housed apes and became engaged in field projects such as the LuiKotale Bonobo Project, and enrolled at the University of Dresden for habilitation. With funding from DFG, I am now at the German Primate Center in Göttingen, continuing with research on life history and the pace of life in bonobos and chimpanzees.
  • Location: Hybrid meeting
  • Room: Seminar room MPI-AB Bücklestrasse + Online
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
  • Contact: bfruth@ab.mpg.de
In my presentation entitled "From Guessing to Knowing: The Beauty of Physiological Measures," I will present data showing the value of physiological measures to monitore life history in bonobos, chimpanzees, and other nonhuman primates. The presentation features the interplay of growth, reproduction, maintenance and mortality and ongoing long-term projects on the ontogeny of bonobos and ... [more]

“I had no idea that I was such an asshole to myself.” – Improving researchers’ mental health and resilience with Nonviolent Communication.

Institute Seminar by Ulrike Schneeberg
  • Date: Dec 19, 2023
  • Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Ulrike Schneeberg
  • Ulrike Schneeberg, PhD, is a Professional Certified Coach (ICF) and systemic business trainer with a focus on caring and honest communication to improve (self-)leadership in research systems. She holds a PhD in American Literature (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) and has six years of international experience: France (Sorbonne), UK (University of Cambridge) and Canada (Université de Montréal). She lives in Berlin with her family.
  • Location: online
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
  • Contact: jgolbol@ab.mpg.de
A lot of the stress researchers experience is inherent in the academic system: short-term contracts, limited financial resources, pressure to finish papers and to publish, competing with many other talented people, constant (self-)evaluation and (self-)criticism, high dependency on your supervisor/PI (for better or worse) or the next stage of funding, holding another job on the side, dealing with ... [more]

Climate change in the monsoonal tropics: a long-term study in purple-crowned fairy-wrens

Institute Seminar by Anne Peters
  • Date: Jan 9, 2024
  • Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Anne Peters
  • Anne has been studying fairy-wrens for 25 years: ever since discovering them on her first visit to Australia, these charismatic birds have kept her captivated. After her MSc at Nijmegen University, she started studying the superb blue wrens of the south-east for her PhD at Australian National University. In 2002 she moved to Germany, where she spent 10 years at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology (Seewiesen, Radolfzell), before moving to Monash University in Melbourne . However, she stayed true to fairy-wrens, now focusing on purple-crowneds in the far north-west, where she has closely followed a colour-banded population continuously since 2005, funded first through the MPG Minerva Program, followed by the Australian Research Council through a Future Fellowship and successive Discovery Program grants. Currently Anne is a professor in Behavioural and Evolutionary Ecology and deputy Head of School in the School of Biological Sciences.
  • Location: online
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
Since 2005, my research group has been studying ecology and behaviour of purple-crowned fairy-wrens. They are endangered cooperatively breeding birds inhabiting riparian zones in the monsoonal savanna of NW-Australia. We follow individually marked birds throughout life to establish their movements, breeding attempts, lifespan, and lifetime reproduction. Here, I will present some results on how ... [more]

Advanced writing course

Being a scientist means one must have many skills and talents -intimidatingly so sometimes. Writing papers is one of the most important ones. It's the currency into which we turn our research and also the most important means for the community to judge us by. Luckily, like most aspects of science it's a skill that we can improve on and this course will help you do just this. We will spend a couple ... [more]
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