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Movement ecologists study how animals move in ecosystems together with other individuals of the same or other species. When animals appear to move together, ecologists often assume they’re interacting, e.g. a predator follows prey, or social animals follow each other. A new study by a team of scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW), Technische Universität Berlin, and the University of Potsdam suggests that’s not necessarily the case: Through movement simulations in various modelled landscapes they found they may not be interacting but rather responding independently to same physical environment.

Many bat species native to Germany, such as the Leisler's bat, are forest specialists. However, as it is becoming increasingly hard for them to find tree hollows in forest plantations, so they are moving to settlements instead. Using high-resolution GPS data from bats, a team led by scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) has analysed in greater detail than ever before how Leisler's bats use their habitats, which tree species they look for when searching a roost, and which forest types they avoid. They found that these bats increasingly seek refuge in old trees in urban areas and in old buildings such as churches. In an article published in the “Journal of Environmental Management”, the team calls for stronger efforts to preserve these alternative roosts in settlements, as well as for ecologically sustainable forestry that protects old trees and promotes structurally rich forests.

African elephants are the largest land animals on earth and significantly larger than their relatives in Asia, from which they are separated by millions of years of evolution. Nevertheless, Asian elephants have a 20 percent heavier brain, as scientists from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) were able to demonstrate together with international colleagues. They also showed that elephant brains­ triple in weight after birth. These results, published in the scientific journal “PNAS Nexus”, provide potential explanations for behavioural differences between African and Asian elephants as well as for the pachyderms' long youth, during which they gain enormous experience and learn social skills.

Together, or not together, that is the question. Hamlet is not the only one facing life-changing questions – wild animals have to make decisions pivotal to their survival on a daily basis. In a modelling case study, scientists of the GAIA Initiative investigated whether exchange of information among African white-backed vultures (Gyps africanus) bring more advantages than disadvantages to the individual vulture in its search for food. They found that social foraging strategies are overall more beneficial than non-social strategies, but that environmental conditions such as vulture and carcass densities greatly influence which strategy yields the best results.

The ambient temperature has a profound impact on the physiology and behaviour of most species. In regions where individuals rely on low temperatures to hibernate effectively, global warming is likely to significantly affect their survival. A team of scientists studied how ambient temperatures shape the energy expenditure of common noctule bats and built a model to predict at which latitudes they could survive hibernation. This model also predicts how the hibernation areas of these bats could change over time. It accurately tracks the northward range shift of this species over the past 50 years and shows a further northeast expansion of up to 14 percent of its current range by 2100 – driven by shorter and warmer winters in Europe.

According to his family, the veterinarian scientist Prof Dr Reinhold R Hofmann passed away on 30 March 2025 at the age of 92. Hofmann worked at Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU), in Kenya, the USA and finally back at JLU. In 1992, Hofmann was appointed as founding director of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) in Berlin and the first professor for Interdisciplinary Zoo and Wildlife Science in Germany at the Freie Universität Berlin. He headed the Leibniz-IZW until his retirement at the end of 1999.

Infections with parasites often entail no recognisable signs in many wildlife species, but can have still negative effects across generations. Infected animals often have a slightly reduced body size and their offspring have a harder start in life. A team of scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW), the Technische Universität Berlin and the University of Potsdam now have shown for the first time, that the impaired reproductive success is connected to altered movement behaviour: Infected starlings have a smaller action radius, which limits their access to high-quality foraging habitats. The paper is published in the scientific journal “Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences”.

On 28 March 2025, the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) bid farewell to its director Prof Heribert Hofer after more than 25 years in office. His temporary successor, Prof Jörns Fickel, head of the Department of Evolutionary Genetics, will take over on 1^st April 2025. A joint appointment for the directorate of the Leibniz-IZW and the professorship for Interdisciplinary Zoo and Wildlife Research at the Freie Universität Berlin is underway.