Events at the MPIAB

Wintering Areas and Habitats of Southwestern German Honey Buzzards (Bachelor presentation)

Rado Seminar by Anabel Paul
Little is known about the spatial use and migration behavior of European Honey Buzzards (Pernis apivorus) in Germany. Looking at tagging projects in Germany, covering this subject, only one could be found in which German Honey Buzzards were tagged in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany from 2001 to 2011 by Meyburg et al. (2013). The Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior started a tagging project on this ... [more]

Collective motion of finite collectives

Institute Seminar by Vishwesha Guttal
  • Date: Apr 30, 2024
  • Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Vishwesha Guttal
  • I am a faculty member at the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, India. I am fascinated by patterns of self-organisation, and nonlinear and stochastic dynamics in ecology. Broadly, in our lab, we study collective animal behaviour, self-organized spatial patterns in vegetation of semi-arid ecosystems. Our overarching goal is to build simple yet “predictive” models of complex dynamical systems. Before joining IISc as a faculty member, I was a postdoc in the group of Iain Couzin at Princeton University; and I did my PhD in Physics at The Ohio State University working with Prof. C Jayaprakash on theoretical ecology. My undergraduate education, in Physics, was at IIT Kanpur.
  • Location: University of Konstanz
  • Room: ZT1202 + online
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
  • Contact: pkaushik@ab.mpg.de
A large body of theory of collective motion focuses large groups/populations. However, real animal groups live in small groups, which we call mesoscopic scales, where intrinsic stochastic fluctuations can not be ignored and have counter intuitive effects. In this talk, I will discuss both theory, empirical work and data-driven models all of which demonstrates the the novelty of collective motion ... [more]

Ecological importance and conservation ecology of white sharks

Institute Seminar by Jerry Moxley
  • Date: May 7, 2024
  • Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Jerry Moxley
  • Dr. Moxley joins us from Florida International University, where he is a research faculty member under the mentorship of Drs. Michael Heithaus and Yannis Papastamatiou. Prior to FIU, Jerry completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Monterey Bay Aquarium as a white shark biologist. He has received advanced degrees from Duke University and Princeton University, conducting spatial and behavioral ecology research on gray seals, baleen whales, reef fish, and even interactions amongst army ant swarms and parasitizing antbirds. Please join us for this exciting talk on marine megafauna and new insights into their functioning in modern ecosystems.
  • Location: University of Konstanz
  • Room: ZT1202 + online
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
  • Contact: aalbi@ab.mpg.de
Please join us for the seminar – “Ecological importance and conservation ecology of white sharks” – on the topic of advancements in understanding of the roles of macropredatory sharks in marine food webs and modern ecosystems, presented by Dr. Jerry Moxley (Florida International University). Faced by a suite of stressors and widespread depletions, there remains debate regarding the role of shark ... [more]

Social learning and cultural behavioural evolution

Institute Seminar by Claudio Tennie
  • Date: May 14, 2024
  • Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Claudio Tennie
  • Claudio Tennie's (University of Tübingen) main research interest is the "evolution of cultural evolution" - which he sees most clearly in the human case. Towards a better understanding of the human case especially, he studies humans as well as humans' closest living (apes) and dead (hominins) relatives. This approach also explains his unusual background: originally trained as a behavioural biologist, he became a comparative psychologist during his PhD (MPI EVAN, Leipzig). Later, he again retrained as a cognitive archaeologist (especially with regard to early stone tools) - the field of study also of his recent ERC "STONECULT" grant.
  • Location: Bückle St. 5a, 78467 Konstanz
  • Room: Seminar room MPI-AB Bücklestrasse + Online
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
  • Contact: cschuppli@ab.mpg.de
The topic of social learning initially had a slow start in animal behaviour, but now even exists as its own sub-field. My own niche within this new field is the study of ape social learning, and of ape cultures. Yet, regardless of study species, one of the main lessons from decades of study is that social learning is not monolithic. There are many types of social learning, each allowing for - but ... [more]

Conflict, collars, and fences: Managing landscapes for the benefit of people and wildlife in the Serengeti, Tanzania

Institute Seminar by Kristen Snyder
  • Date: May 21, 2024
  • Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Kristen Snyder
  • I completed my PhD at the University of California – Davis, where my work focused on human-wildlife conflict and conservation planning. I joined the Grumeti Fund in 2015 while completing my degree and have subsequently worked with the organization in varying capacities as a postdoctoral fellow, Head Scientist, and Scientific Advisor (current). In 2019 I led the development and launch of our applied research program and facility, Research and Innovation for the Serengeti Ecosystem (RISE, see 'further information'). I am an affiliated scientist with the Wittemyer Lab at Colorado State University and Chief Scientist at Natural Capital. Human-wildlife conflict, coexistence, and linking science with conservation management are common themes in my work, which I approach from an interdisciplinary perspective and using a variety of tools, including household surveys, camera traps, wildlife GPS collars, and remote sensing.
  • Location: Bückle St. 5a, 78467 Konstanz
  • Room: Seminar room MPI-AB Bücklestrasse + Online
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
  • Contact: ktiedeman@ab.mpg.de
In rural communities, Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) can pose a serious threat to household food security, safety, and livelihoods, and in turn, undermine conservation efforts. Managing HWC has become an increasingly important component of managing wildlife populations and protected areas. The Ikorongo – Grumeti Game Reserve complex in the western Serengeti is an inspirational conservation success ... [more]

Using the Internet of Animals to Monitor Local and Global Biodiversity

Institute Seminar by Roland Kays
My vision for conservation focuses on animal population size and connectivity. First, we need annual estimates of animal abundance and their trends to know which species most need our help, where. Second, we need species-specific measures of habitat connectivity between these populations to ensure animal movement continues to provide genetic exchange and allow colonization of new habitats as the ... [more]

EAT, PREY, LOVE: The Role of Food & Mates in Shaping Lion Societies

Institute Seminar by Stotra Chakrabarti
  • Date: Jun 4, 2024
  • Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Stotra Chakrabarti
  • Dr. Stotra Chakrabarti is an Assistant Professor of Animal Behaviour at Macalester College, Minnesota, USA. He has a MS in Wildlife Sciences and a PhD in Animal Behaviour from the Wildlife Institute of India, and he did his Postdoctoral Research from the University of Minnesota. He is a behavioural ecologist & conservation biologist, who’s expertise is in studying the links between fundamental animal ecology and applied conservation, with large mammals (especially carnivores) as study species. Stotra’s curiosity in the natural world began with a childhood spent watching leopards and elephants in the vicinity of where he grew up: the foothills of Himalayas in India. Subsequently, a very immersive and rigorous graduate program at the Wildlife Institute of India cemented his interest in animal behaviour and conservation biology.
  • Location: Bückle St. 5a, 78467 Konstanz
  • Room: Seminar room MPI-AB Bücklestrasse + Online
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
  • Contact: nborrego@ab.mpg.de
Lions are iconic top predators that feature intensely in research and conservation projects. However, majority of such research has focused on lions in prey-rich savanna habitats. The typical model lion thus belongs to only a few charismatic populations, thereby confining our understanding of the behaviour of a widely distributed species. In this seminar, by summarizing my long-term behavioural ... [more]

Institute Seminar by Tiago Monteiro

Institute Seminar by Tiago Monteiro
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Understanding the evolution of social relationships: Lessons from comparative research

Institute Seminar by Delphine de Moor
  • Date: Jun 18, 2024
  • Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Delphine de Moor
  • My research investigates the selective pressures and evolutionary fitness outcomes of social relationships. I combine broad-scale, comparative analyses of social structure across species with longitudinal analyses of social relationships within species, with a particular focus on macaques. I have a BSc and MSc in Biology from the University of Ghent, a PhD degree in Behavioural Ecology from the University of Göttingen and the German Primate Center, and am currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour at the University of Exeter.
  • Location: Bückle St. 5a, 78467 Konstanz
  • Room: Seminar room MPI-AB Bücklestrasse + Online
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
  • Contact: gabriella.gall@ab.mpg.de
Dimensions of the social environment consistently emerge as some of the strongest predictors of fitness across a broad range of social mammals. This includes taxa spanning hundreds of millions of years of independent evolution and encompassing a highly diverse set of social relationship types. How can we understand the selective pressures that shape this diversity? Comparing social structures ... [more]

Institute Seminar by Eliezer Gurarie

Institute Seminar by Eliezer Gurarie
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Introduction in Proposal Writing

  • Start: Jun 27, 2024 09:15 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • End: Jun 28, 2024 05:15 PM
  • Speaker: Dr. Babette Regierer and Dr. Brian Cusack, Science Craft
  • Dr. Babette Regierer joins Science Craft for the instruction of the Applied Proposal Writing workshop. Her 10 years of professional proposal writingand international teaching and consulting experience encompass 200 proposal consultations and active participation in writing more than 50 proposals. This has informed her design and teaching of proposal writing courses at Pearls – Potsdam Research Network. · Dr. Brian Cusack is a native English-speaking scientist with over 15 years of scientific writing, editing and publishing experience in high-ranking scientific journals. Dr Brian Cusack comes from Cork, Ireland and received his Ph.D. in Genetics from Trinity College, Dublin in 2007. During his Ph.D. Brian received the kind of mentoring that he continues to consider as the gold-standard for graduate students. After completing his first postdoc at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, Brian conducted post-doctoral research in evolutionary genomics at the Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin. In February 2012, together with Rick Scavetta, Brian co-founded Science Craft in Berlin. Since then Brian has provided high-level training workshops for more than a thousand researchers throughout Germany as well as in Norway and China.
  • Location: University of Konstanz
  • Room: ZT1201
  • Host: IMPRS
  • Contact: imprs@uni-konstanz.de
This two-day workshop enables life scientists to write grants and fellowships that get their research funded! The participants learn how to view proposal writing as a competition in a marketplace of research ideas and as an instrument for career advancement, develop and sell a research idea by matching it to the goals of the targeted funding body, convince reviewers of ce of the research idea ... [more]

Getting Published and Mastering Peer Review

  • Start: Jul 1, 2024 09:00 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • End: Jul 2, 2024 05:00 PM
  • Speaker: Brian Cusack, Science Craft
  • Who is you trainer: Dr. Brian Cusack comes from Cork, Ireland and received his Ph.D. in Genetics from Trinity College, Dublin in 2007. During his Ph.D. Brian received the kind of mentoring that he continues to consider as the gold-standard for graduate students. After completing his first postdoc at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, Brian conducted post-doctoral research in evolutionary genomics at the Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin. In February 2012, together with Rick Scavetta, Brian co-founded Science Craft in Berlin. Since then Brian has provided high-level training workshops for more than a thousand researchers throughout Germany as well as in Norway and China.
  • Location: University of Konstanz
  • Room: ZT1201
  • Host: IMPRS
  • Contact: imprs@uni-konstanz.de
Peer Review is the foundation of the scientific method, providing quality control for published research findings. Yet more than 95% of researchers receive no training in this essential skill, forcing them to learn, by trial and error, how to engage in peer review as authors and reviewers. Science Craft’s newest workshop is unique in filling this important skills-gap. Participants learn how to ... [more]

Institute Seminar by Ana Sequeira

Institute Seminar by Ana Sequeira
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Restoring biodiversity – the key to preventing the next pandemic?

Institute Seminar by Lucinda Kirkpatrick
  • Date: Jul 9, 2024
  • Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Lucinda Kirkpatrick
  • I carried out my PhD at the University of Stirling investigating biodiversity differences and animal behaviour in response to management decisions in commercial coniferous plantations in the UK. While this focussed primarily on bat species, for my post doc and fellowship (FWO), I changed country, study species and study location to investigate how individual and population level drivers influence disease transmission in the multimammate mouse in Tanzania based at the EVECO group at the University of Antwerp, under Prof. Herwig Leirs. I have now joined Bangor University in North Wales as Lecturer in Wildlife Ecology, alongside co-leading a large consortium of partners to investigate how restoration influences biodiversity recovery, individual behaviour and mechanisms of spillover risk. This project, funded by Horizon EU, has just started and will run for four years and is a bringing together of the landscape scale drivers of biodiversity I investigated with my PhD and the drivers and mechanisms of spillover risk which underpinned my post doctoral and fellowship work. In addition, in order to investigate some of these key mechanisms of spillover risk, I collaborated with colleagues in Engineering in UAntwerp to develop miniaturised proximity loggers, which we launched into a spin off company, IoSA BV, focussed on low power solutions to investigating key components of animal behaviour.
  • Location: MPI-AB Möggingen
  • Room: Seminar room MPI-AB Möggingen + Online
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
  • Contact: twild@ab.mpg.de
There is clear and growing evidence that anthropogenic impacts on our environment are impacting our quality of life. Spillovers of zoonotic diseases occur more frequently in degraded landscapes where contact between humans and wildlife increase. Restoration has been flagged as a key tool in our quest to redress some of the damage that has been done historically but there is very little known ... [more]

Institute Seminar by Sara Beery

Institute Seminar by Sara Beery
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