Biodiversity and Evolution
Ecology
Head: Prof. Liliane Ruess
Soil is the most diverse ecosystem on earth, yet still remains a black box. We investigate the biodiversity, structure and function of soil food webs, with nematodes as target group. Here, modern biochemical tools, such as lipid and stable isotope analysis allow new insight into this cryptic habitat.
Evolution and Biodiversity of Plants
Head: N.N. komm. Leitung Prof. Kerstin Kaufmann
Located at the Späth-Arboretum, our research focuses on the study and conservation of trees and local ecosystems. We develop novel tree propagation methods, including somatic embryogenesis, to support sustainable forestry and conservation. Through HUmweltakademie and Citizen Science projects, we engage the public in gathering and sharing knowledge on urban and wild vegetation. We maintain several plant collections to preserve diversity: the living plant collection at Späth-Arboretum, herbarium specimens, and cryopreserved cell cultures of various tree species.
Paleobiology and Evolution
Head: Prof. Jörg Fröbisch
We study the early evolution and diversification of terrestrial vertebrates and their ecosystems, the origin of key innovations and body plans, and the impact of mass extinction events on terrestrial vertebrate ecosystems by combining paleontological fieldwork with modern 3D-imaging techniques and quantitative methods.
Evolutionary ethology
Head: Prof. Mirjam Knörnschild
Our research bridges behavioral ecology, bioacoustics, and evolutionary biology to investigate the mechanisms and consequences of vocal learning, animal communication, and culture in bats. A central aim is to understand how acoustic communication systems shape and are shaped by social behavior, cognitive traits, and evolutionary processes.
Comparative Zoology
Head: Prof. John Nyakatura
Our team focusses on the functional morphology and evolution of land-living vertebrates. Collection-based approaches, experimental approaches and field work are integrated to study form-function relationships on an organismic level in the context of evolution.
Biology Education
Head: Prof. Annette Upmeier zu Belzen
Basic Education Research: Theoretical modeling and measuring of processes of scientific inquiry, competence-based teaching and learning of biological content knowledge and scientific inquiry in the context of formal, non-formal and informal education, competence development considering personality and situation-related characteristics, investigation of attitudes and argumentation about controversial science issues.
Science Communication: Citizen Science school projects, gamification in science communication.
Science Communication: Citizen Science school projects, gamification in science communication.
Development and Evolution
Head: Prof. Nadia Fröbisch
Research in the lab concentrates on the evolution and development of the vertebrate body plan and the relationships between ontogeny and phylogeny throughout vertebrate evolution. A particular research focus lies on the evolutionary and developmental biology of amphibians combining data from the fossil record with those from modern amphibians.
Integrative Biodiversity Discovery
Head: Prof. Rudolf Meier
The Center for Integrative Biodiversity Discovery is a newly established research initiative at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, led by Rudolf Meier since late 2021. The Center addresses the global biodiversity crisis by transforming how new species are discovered. Its research combines classical taxonomy with modern approaches, including genomics, automation, and artificial intelligence. The team develops scalable, high-throughput methods to rapidly identify both described and unknown species, particularly within poorly known groups (dark taxa). The Center supports collaborative, data-driven research and brings infrastructure and workflows that scale with the urgency of biodiversity loss.
Paleozoology
Head: Prof. Johannes Müller
Our research concentrates on fossil and extant terrestrial vertebrates, particularly reptiles and mammals. We are especially interested in the underlying causes of evolutionary diversification, both at the taxic and morphological levels, for which we employ anatomical, paleontological, molecular, and ecological methods, as well as 3D imaging.