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

The largest study of flight costs in the wild finds that riding the air can make flying cheaper than swimming, overturning a textbook ranking

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

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In the Media

Biologist Martin Wikelski – inventor of the Internet of Animals

Biologe Martin Wikelski – Erfinder des Internets der Tiere
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What distinguishes efficient fliers from other birds

Was effiziente Flieger von anderen Vögeln unterscheidet
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How some birds cover thousands of kilometers without expending much energy

Hoe sommige vogels duizenden kilometers afleggen zonder veel energie te verbruiken
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