Past Courses / Events

Studying gulls: What can we learn from these opportunistic, flexible, and explorative species?

Institute Seminar by Stefan Garthe
  • Date: Jun 9, 2026
  • Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Stefan Garthe
  • Stefan Garthe is a marine ecologist and ornithologist. After earning his Ph.D. from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany, he moved to the Research and Technology Center (FTZ) on the North Sea coast in Büsum, which is an external station of Kiel University. He was appointed a professor at Kiel University and director of the FTZ. Stefan Garthe was president of the German Ornithological Society from 2013 to 2018 and an adjunct professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada. He has dedicated most of his career to studying seabirds, a field in which he has worked for 35 years with an emphasis on northern gannets and several gull species. He has produced over 320 publications and led more than 90 national and international projects focusing on seabird ecology, the environmental impacts of offshore wind energy, and marine protected areas.
  • Location: MPI-AB Möggingen
  • Room: Seminar room MPI-AB Möggingen + Online
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
  • Contact: ipokrovsky@ab.mpg.de
Gulls are a taxonomic group of birds known for their flexible, opportunistic behaviour, their use of a wide range of habitats, and their strong response to human activities. Since 2008, we have GPS-tracked more than 800 individuals of seven gull species in Europe and three in the Americas. We have ... [more]

Big Cats, Bigger Question

Institute Seminar by Natalia Borrego
  • Date: Jun 2, 2026
  • Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Natalia Borrego
  • Natalia Borrego is a behavioral ecologist and evolutionary biologist whose research explores the proximate and ultimate drivers of behavior, cognition, and sociality. Using African lions (Panthera leo) as a model system, her work combines high-resolution biologging technology, traditional ecological knowledge from expert San trackers, captive experiments, and field studies across multiple ecosystems to investigate how animals make decisions, solve problems, coordinate socially, and adapt their behavior under varying ecological conditions.
  • Location: University of Konstanz
  • Room: ZT 702 + online
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
  • Contact: lrosales@ab.mpg.de
Much of what we know about lion behavior comes from resource-rich systems such as the Serengeti. Yet lions inhabit an extraordinary diversity of environments ranging from productive savannas to semi-arid deserts, forests, and coastal ecosystems, and these contrasting systems can impose ... [more]

Still Soaring: How African Vultures persist under Global Change

Rado Seminar by Jonathan Eveso
  • Date: May 29, 2026
  • Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Jonathan Eveso
  • Location: Bückle St. 5a, 78467 Konstanz
  • Room: Seminar room MPI-AB Bücklestrasse + Online
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
  • Contact: ksafi@ab.mpg.de
Climate change is reshaping vulture distributions. Contraction of African vultures’ ranges under climate change have been reported in addition to escalating poisoning and persecution they already face. Within the broader global change context, shifting climates interact with other drivers such as ... [more]

Workshop: When Work Makes You Sick - How Workplace Bullying Undermines Health, Wellness, and Human Sustainability

Workshop with Leah P. Hollis
  • Date: May 27, 2026
  • Time: 10:00 AM - 01:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Leah P. Hollis
  • Associate Dean for Access, Equity and Inclusion; Professor of Education, Education Policy Studies Penn State University. Leah P. Hollis EdD, the inaugural Associate Dean of Access, Equity and Inclusion is national and international expert on workplace bullying. Her most recent book, Instrumental Social Justice in Higher Education Eight Surveys for Workplace Bullying and Social Justice Research which was released by Routledge publications in 2024, is an extension of her work on bullying in higher education. Other notable work includes Human Resource Perspectives on Workplace Bullying in Higher Education addresses structural problems that enable workplace bullying. She has spoken nationally and internationally to help over 350 schools address incivility on campus. Dr. Hollis has an extensive career in higher education administration and has held senior leadership and faculty posts. Dr. Hollis has taught at Northeastern University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Rutgers University. Dr. Hollis received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Africana Studies from Rutgers University and her Master of Arts in English Literature from the University of Pittsburgh. She earned her Doctorate of Education from Boston University as a Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellow. Also, Dr. Hollis continued her professional training at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, Higher Education Management Development Program. She earned certification in Project Management and Executive Leadership at Stanford University and Cornell University, respectively. Hollis is also the recipient of the AERA Social Justice Award for 2024.
  • Location: Bückle St. 5a, 78467 Konstanz
  • Room: Seminar room MPI-AB bücklestrasse 4.06
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
  • Contact: mhieber@ab.mpg.de
Workplace bullying is increasingly recognized as a serious threat to employee health and organizational sustainability, yet in the United States it is still framed primarily as a legal or interpersonal issue rather than a public health concern. Drawing on survey data from 729 higher education ... [more]

When Fear Enters the Lab: Bullying, Power, and the Erosion of Scientific Integrity

Institute Seminar by Leah P. Hollis
  • Date: May 26, 2026
  • Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Leah P. Hollis
  • Associate Dean for Access, Equity and Inclusion; Professor of Education, Education Policy Studies Penn State University. Leah P. Hollis EdD, the inaugural Associate Dean of Access, Equity and Inclusion is national and international expert on workplace bullying. Her most recent book, Instrumental Social Justice in Higher Education Eight Surveys for Workplace Bullying and Social Justice Research which was released by Routledge publications in 2024, is an extension of her work on bullying in higher education. Other notable work includes Human Resource Perspectives on Workplace Bullying in Higher Education addresses structural problems that enable workplace bullying. She has spoken nationally and internationally to help over 350 schools address incivility on campus. Dr. Hollis has an extensive career in higher education administration and has held senior leadership and faculty posts. Dr. Hollis has taught at Northeastern University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Rutgers University. Dr. Hollis received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Africana Studies from Rutgers University and her Master of Arts in English Literature from the University of Pittsburgh. She earned her Doctorate of Education from Boston University as a Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellow. Also, Dr. Hollis continued her professional training at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, Higher Education Management Development Program. She earned certification in Project Management and Executive Leadership at Stanford University and Cornell University, respectively. Hollis is also the recipient of the AERA Social Justice Award for 2024.
  • Location: Bückle St. 5a, 78467 Konstanz
  • Room: Seminar room MPI-AB Bücklestrasse + Online
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
Workplace bullying is increasingly recognized as a serious threat to employee health and organizational sustainability, yet in the United States it is still framed primarily as a legal or interpersonal issue rather than a public health concern. Drawing on survey data from 729 higher education ... [more]

The progression of hunting decision-making in lions

Rado Seminar by Elena Iannino
  • Date: May 22, 2026
  • Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Elena Iannino
  • Location: Bückle St. 5a, 78467 Konstanz
  • Room: Seminar room MPI-AB Bücklestrasse + Online
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
  • Contact: ksafi@ab.mpg.de
Predation is a multistage process shaped by behavioral decisions that unfold from rest to pursuit, with each stage shaped by interacting environmental, social, and prey-related factors. Decomposing this sequence offers a mechanistic understanding of predator–prey interactions, as drivers of success ... [more]

Forest Loss, Fragmentation and Climate Change: Mammals in a Changing Amazon Landscape

Institute Seminar by Daniel Rocha
  • Date: May 19, 2026
  • Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Daniel Rocha
  • I am a wildlife ecologist with a strong interest in the ecology of large mammals and in applying analytical methods to wildlife research. My work focuses on understanding how environmental and human related factors influence population dynamics, species distributions, and community composition across large spatial scales. As a native of Brazil, I have always been fascinated by the Amazonian biodiversity. Since 2011, I have been involved in the research and conservation of Amazonian mammals. My most recent projects explore how large terrestrial mammals are responding to rapid land use changes in the southern Brazilian Amazon, with the goal of informing more effective conservation strategies and sustainable land use planning.
  • Location: Bückle St. 5a, 78467 Konstanz
  • Room: Seminar room MPI-AB Bücklestrasse + Online
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
  • Contact: lrosales@ab.mpg.de
The Amazon contains over half of the planet’s remaining tropical forests and supports a disproportionately large share of global biodiversity. Yet this ecosystem faces escalating pressures, including accelerating deforestation, widespread fire use, and the growing impacts of climate change. These ... [more]

IMPRS PhD student retreat 2026

IMPRS PhD student retreat 2026
  • Start: May 18, 2026 12:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
  • End: May 20, 2026 12:00 PM
  • Speaker: Imran Razik and Michael Mende
  • Location: Jugengerberge Tübingen
  • Host: IMPRS
  • Contact: imprs@uni-konstanz.de
[more]

Cooperation, competition and the persistence of behavioural diversity

Institute Seminar by Daniela Perez
  • Date: May 12, 2026
  • Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Daniela Perez
  • I’m a biologist fascinated by the mesmerising diversity of animal behaviours that we see in nature. What drives this variety? How do social interactions, life-history traits, and environmental forces intertwine to shape the spectacular range of behaviours we see across species? To answer these questions, I use key study species as model systems to explore broad evolutionary principles while uncovering unique, often surprising aspects of animal behaviour. My approach combines data from diverse sources — online databases, museum collections, and global field collections and collaborations — to perform large-scale macroevolutionary investigations. Alongside this, I design targeted field and laboratory experiments to manipulate and test for ecological effects and unveil the adaptive meaning of these behaviour. I’m currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Genes and Behavior Lab at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior where I study collective behaviour in nematodes. My current project delves into the adaptive significance and conditions that lead to remarkable and little-explored 3D collective phenomenon: worm towers. Beyond my science, I love using artwork to convey general research to the public. To me, visual arts is the most powerful tool to translate science to all audiences.
  • Location: MPI-AB Möggingen
  • Room: Seminar room MPI-AB Möggingen + Online
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
  • Contact: kkumari@ab.mpg.de
Alongside the wide diversification of behaviours we observe across species, understanding how behavioural variation persists in populations is a central question in evolutionary biology. In this talk, I present research across three animal systems that share a common thread: the coexistence of ... [more]

The behavioural legacies of past human–animal interactions

Rado Seminar Louise Faure
  • Date: May 8, 2026
  • Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Louise Faure
  • Location: Bückle St. 5a, 78467 Konstanz
  • Room: Seminar room MPI-AB Bücklestrasse + Online
  • Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
  • Contact: ksafi@ab.mpg.de
Human–animal interactions drive behavioural trait changes in animals. The cumulative effect of these changes on the behavioural repertoire of species and populations critically determines their capacity to adapt to future human-induced environmental change, particularly under scenarios of reduced ... [more]
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