Department of Migration

 

Myriads of organisms travel great distances on their search for suitable food, wintering and mating grounds. Our planet resembles one large pulsating organism, in which all of the organisms that are continually moving are breathing life into it. Understanding this pulsating life and its underlying mechanisms allows a better understanding of the ecologically dynamic processes on a global scale.

We strive to understand and predict which decisions animals will make on their journey, how animals will interact with their ever-changing environment, and the consequences their migrations have on ecosystems and humans. Above all, this insight will enable us to predict the impact that we humans have on these processes and allow us to understand the future consequences.

 

 

Research - The Migration Groups

ICARUS and Movebank

Community Science

News

Experience determines when the birds leave their home range

Gunnar Hartmann has won this year’s #ScientistAtWork photo competition run by the journal Nature with a photograph of the bald ibis project

Immune cells packed with iron could help birds detect Earth’s magnetic field

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In the Media

The secret of animal migration with Dirk Steffens

Das Geheimnis der Tierwanderungen mit Dirk Steffens more

Migration of billions: Animal migration will be the largest research project in the world

Migration der Milliarden: Tierwanderung wird größtes Forschungsprojekt der Welt more

A decade-old lab mystery about magnetic cells finally reveals where pigeons navigate by when clouds block the sun

A decade-old lab mystery about magnetic cells finally reveals where pigeons navigate by when clouds block the sun more

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