Wadden sea excursion
04.11.2024 We spent the last week with the Ecology and Environmental Change masters students at the Wadden Sea studying the ecosystem!
New paper
08.09.2024 "Can chicks smell their parents? No evidence of olfactory parent recognition in a shorebird", read more here.
Isabel won the Karl Peter Grotemeyer price for excellent teaching!
24.07.2024 Congratulations, Isabel for winning the Karl Peter Grotemeyer price! Read all about it here.
New paper
08.05.2024 "No sex difference in preen oil chemical composition during incubation in Kentish plovers", read more here.
New paper
23.04.2024 "Smarter in the city? Lizards from urban and semi-natural habitats do not differ in a cognitive task in two syntopic species", read more here.
PhD project available
23.04.2024 Social organisation and vocal communication in wild zebra finches. Read more here.
Master thesis project available
23.04.2024 Are you looking for a master thesis project? Trade off: Investment in growth vs. sexual traits expression in zebra finch. Read more here.
New paper
04.04.2024 "Performance of different automatic photographic identification software for larvae and adults of the European fire salamander", read more here.
New paper
03.04.2024 "Stress response of fire salamander larvae differs between habitat types", read more here.
PhD thesis handed in!
02.04.2024 Marc handed in his PhD thesis about "The role of preen oil and body odours in birds", congratulations!
New paper
01.04.2024 "Tonic immobility behaviour does not differ between fire salamander larvae from ponds and streams", read more here.
Anual meeting of the Ethological Society in Münster
21.-23.02.2024 Our group visited the annual meeting of the Ethological Society in Münster this week.
Register for our free workshop
05.02.2024 Join our free workshop “Individual identification of Fire salamanders and Yellow-bellied toads with a free and open source software” on February 24th, 2024. The workshop will take place between 1 and 3 pm (CET) via zoom. Please find the full programme here.
New paper
09.01.2024 "The smell of zebra finches: Elucidation of zebra finch odour applying gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and olfaction-guided approaches", read more here.
Writing retreat
08.12.2023 We took this week off to focus on our projects during our writing retreat. What a great time!
Master thesis project available
17.11.2023 Are you looking for a master thesis project? We offer a project that includes field work with fire salamander larvae next spring. Read more here.
Wadden Sea excursion
11.11.2023 This week we are at the Wadden Sea with the Ecology and Environmental Change master course.
05.10.2023 Fire salamanders in the Botanical Garden
Our PhD student Max gave a nice presentation about fire salamders for all interested people. If you want to know more, check out the short video below about his work in the botanical garden (in German).
International Wader Study Group conference
30.09.2023 Our PhD student Marc participated at IWSG and gave insights into his work in plovers.
Excursion
11. - 15.09.2023 Prospective teachers on the field trip to Spiekeroog to learn about the flora and fauna of the Wadden Sea National Park.
Behaviour conference 2023
20.08.2023 A conference full of inspiring talks, posters, discussions and workshops is coming to an end.
Behaviour conference 2023
14.08.2023 It's finally happening! Check out the video that was shot for the kick-off of this conference.
New preprint
08.08.2023 "Stress response of fire salamander larvae differs between habitat types", read more here.
Master thesis successfully defended
27.06.2023 Our master student Laurence successfully defended her thesis last week! Congrats, Laurence!
New paper
14.06.2023 "Preen oil composition of Pied Flycatchers is similar between partners but differs between sexes and breeding stages", read more here.
New paper
15.05.2023 "Population monitoring of European fire salamanders (Salamandra salamandra) with a new photo-recognition software", read more here.
Field season started
09.05.2023 Our lizard team started their field season in Croatia. Have a great time, Caro, Avery & Isabel!
New paper
28.04.2023 "Olfactory sex preferences in six Estrildid Finch species", read more here.
Nomination for Karl Peter Grotemeyer Prize 2022
14.04.2023 We are very happy to announce that Isabel got nominated for the Karl Peter Grotemeyer Prize 2022 for outstanding teaching at Bielefeld university!
New paper
30.03.2023 "Nocturnal basking in freshwater turtles: a global assessment", read more here.
Welcome to the team, Nadine!
15.03.2023 Nadine is joining our team as a PhD student. Nadine works on MHC differences in banded mongooses (Mungos mungo) and potential effects of MHC variation on social communication.
Welcome to the team, Sabine!
01.03.2023 From today on, Sabine will join our team as a Post-doc. Sabine works on causes & consequences of consistent individual differences in behaviour with zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata).
Ethological Society conference 2023
27.02.2023 Last week, some members of our department visited the 2023 conference of the Ethological Society in Berlin.
How finch parents influence their chick's gut microbioma
03.02.2023 Have a look at this amazing movie made by research TV from Bielefeld University about the gut microbiome of finches.
New paper
12.12.2022 "Behavioural responses to chemical cues of predators differ between fire salamander larvae from two different habitats", read more here.
New paper
26.11.2022 "Timing matters: age-dependent impacts of the social environment and host selection on the avian gut microbiota", read more here.
Bird watching at the Wadden Sea excursion
08.11.2022 We are having a great week with the Ecology and Environmental Change master course at the Wadden Sea.
Master thesis project available: What’s in the smell of flycatchers?
23.10.2022 We offer a great opportunity to study the smell of pied flycatchers. Find all information here.
PhD thesis handed in!
04.10.2022 Today Pia handed in her PhD thesis about "Life history implications of the mother's choice for a larval habitat", congrats!
Student project available
30.09.2022 Interested in studying incubation behaviour of plovers from Madagascar? How to apply and more information here.
NC3 writing retreat in Aurich
22.09.2022 This week the "writing retreat" organised by some PhD students from the NC3 takes places in Aurich, Germany. This is a great opportunity to focuse on writing on projects, proposals or papers.
114th meeting of the German Zoological Society (DZG)
19.09.2022 Last week our department participated in the DZG meeting. Besides great talks and interesting discussions, Öncü was invited as a speaker for the behaviour subject group and Marc won a price for the best student talk. Well done!
New article
07.09.2022 "Individuelle Erkennung von Amphibien am Beispiel von Feuersalamander Alttieren und Larven, sowie Gelbbauchunken mittels Wildbook Software".
NC3 Retreat in Hessen
02.09.2022 The annual retreat from the collaborative research centre NC3 took place from 29.08.-01.09.2022. It was full of great discussion and interdisciplinary exchange.
ESEB under-represented ECR achievement award
22.08.2022 Last week Öncü received the under-represented ECR achievement award at the ESEB conference in Prague. Congratulations, Öncü!
The value of amphibians - Interview with Pia
27.07.2022 What is the value of amphibians? Listen to this interesting interview with Pia and her opinion on why amphibians are important. You can find the interview here.
Save the date: Behaviour 2023 conference from 14th to 20th of August 2023!
05.07.2022 From 14th to 20th of August 2023 the Behaviour 2023 conference will take place in Bielefeld. Learn more about the conference here.
New PhD student!
09.06.2022 Avery will study behaviour and cognition of urban and wild lizards from Croatia. Welcome to our team, Avery!
New preprint
08.06.2022 "Timing matters: Age-dependent impacts of the social environment and host selection on the avian gut microbiota", read more here.
Amphibian and Reptile Wildbook Software videos available
08.06.2022 Now available: Have a look at our new videos on how to use the Amphibian & Reptile Wildbook software as a citizen science tool or for conservation and research purposes.
New paper published!
16.05.2022 "Prior exposure of a fungal parasite to cyanobacterial extracts does not impair infection of its Daphnia host", read more here.
ESEB under-represented ECR achievement award
13.05.2022 We are happy and super proud to announce that Öncü is one of the two winners of this years "ESEB under-represented ECR achievement award". Read more here.
Off to Croatia!
05.05.2022 Today Isabel & Carolin left for their field season in Croatia. Good luck with your experiments!
New paper published!
27.04.2022 "Changes to the gut microbiota of a wild juvenile passerine in a multidimensional urban mosaic", read more here.
Field season on Madagascar started
15.04.2022 This week Marc left for his second field season on Madagascar to study plovers. Have a great time, Marc!
New paper published!
21.03.2022 "Blood parasite diversity (Apicomplexa: Haemogregarinidae) within the western populations of the European pond turtle Emys orbicularis", read more here.
Fire salamander field season started
19.03.2022 Our salamander team has successfully started the field season of this year in the Kottenforst. Good luck with your projects!
New PhD students!
11.03.2022 Welcome to our team, Max & Laura!
Max and Laura will join the fire salamander group and work on niche choice in fire salamander females and nice conformance in larvae.
New paper published!
03.03.2022 "Wild cognition – linking form and function of cognitive abilities within a natural context", read more here.
User guide for wildbook software available
02.03.2022 A short user guide on how to use the Amphibian and Reptile Wildbook is available now in English and in German. Here you find the guide.
New twitter account
25.02.2022 Our official department twitter account is online now! Check is out here @BehavEcoBIE
Student project available (project or research module/ thesis)
17.02.2022 Interested in working with birds? We are looking for a motivated student to help us with our pied flycatcher field work & data analysis this spring. Read more here.
Individual recognition software for fire salamander and yellow bellied toads
11.02.2022 Interested to learn how to use a software for individual recognition in fire salamander and yellow bellied toads? Join our workshop on 5.3.2022 (in German!). Read more here.
New paper published!
07.02.2022 "Olfactory camouflage and communication in birds", read more here.
1 PhD position available!
3.02.2022 Our department has one PhD position available on the project "How to cope with a changing world? A comparative study with lizards".
More information
Deadline for applications is 24.02.2022.
New paper published!
31.01.2022 "Shifts between cooperation and antagonism driven by individual variation: a systematic synthesis review", read more here.
New master student
21.01.2022 Manuela is investigating which housing condition is preferred by wild fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) for her master thesis.
New DFG project
17.01.2022 We are very happy to announce that we will receive a DFG grant for our project "How to cope with a changing world? A comparative study with lizards".
New phd student!
14.01.2022 Welcome to our team, Michael!
Michael will study the impact of human presence on a predator-prey system in Croatia.
Preen oil sampling
11.01.2022 We are currently taking preen oil samples for our DFG project on the scent of songbirds and the behavioural response of the offspring to it. Here you see the preen gland of a zebra finch.
2 PhD positions available!
23.12.2021 Our department offers two PhD positions on niche choice and niche conformance in fire salamanders. More information
Deadline for applications is 05.01.2022
Field season on Madagascar
21.12.2021 Today Marc retruned from his field season on Madagascar where he worked with different plover species. Welcome back, Marc!
Have a look at the great pictures and videos he took on his twitter account @_Marc_Gilles
New paper published!
17.12.2021 "Very Small Home Ranges of Two Gravid European Brown Bears during Hyperphagia", read more here.
SFB funding for four more years granted!
25.11.2021 We are very happy to announce that the DFG funded SFB project (SFB/TRR 212) will continue for another 4 years! Our project in the SFB focusses on niche choice and niche conformance in fire salamander.
Wadden Sea excursion
08.11.2021 We had a great week with the students of the Ecology and Environmental Change master course at the Wadden Sea.
SFB retreat on Helgoland
24.09.2021 The NC3 retreat took place on Helgoland this year. We spent an amazing week with our colleagues which was full of inspriring talks and great discussions!
New paper published!
"Shifts between cooperation and antagonism driven by individual variation: a systematic synthesis review", read more here.
New marten protection!
25.09.2021 All 128 nest boxes in our pied flycatcher study site are now equipped with marten protection.
New paper published!
"The ravages of time – Life-long consequences of early larval nutritional conditions on the terrestrial life of fire salamanders (Salamandra salamandra)", read more here.
New paper published!
"Chemical analysis reveals sex differences in the preen gland secretion of breeding Blue Tits", read more here.
New paper published!
"Invasive lizard has fewer parasites than native congener", read more here.
New paper published!
"Playing dead: lizards show tonic immobility without human handling", read more here.
New paper published!
"Male Chemical Signalling to Recruit Females in the Greater Short-Nosed Fruit Bat Cynopterus sphinx", read more here.