Press releases

A team of scientists from Berlin analysed water and sediment samples from six water bodies in Berlin and the adjacent federal states of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, as well as the inflow and outflow of a wastewater treatment plant in Berlin. The scientists analysed bacteria found in these samples and detected a higher diversity and load of antibiotic resistance genes in urban samples. The inflow and effluent from the treatment plant were the most heavily contaminated, but resistant bacteria were also found in rural lakes far from urban areas. The study is published in the journal “iScience”.

A new study by scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW), has revealed significant cryptic diversity within two-toed sloths (Choloepus) in Amazonia, challenging the long-established taxonomy of the genus. This international effort involved key South American collaborators. Utilizing the first genome-wide dataset from multiple two-toed sloth populations, the study published in the journal “Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution” provides critical new evidence that past environmental changes shaped the sloths’ evolutionary history, and highlights an urgent need for taxonomic revision and updated conservation assessment and strategies.

Roaring over long distances is a key behaviour of lions. They communicate within prides as well as with other animals using distinct sequences of moans and grunts. Scientists from the GAIA Initiative have now published a machine learning approach in the journal “Ecological Informatics” that improves how roaring behaviour can be studied. The algorithm can reliably detect long-distance roaring based solely on acceleration data (ACC) that is recorded by collars – without a microphone and without energy- and storage-intensive audio files. For the first time, such an algorithm works reliably with both male and female lions, and even with mixed signals when lions are walking while roaring.

The BioRescue Consortium has made progressive strides in its mission to save the Northern White Rhino from imminent extinction. At the beginning of 2026, scientists successfully conducted an oocyte (egg cell) pick up procedure from the Northern White Rhino female Fatu in Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya, consequently yielding one new Northern White Rhino embryo. This brings the total number of pure Northern White Rhino embryos produced so far to 39, boosting our hopes for the future of this imperiled subspecies.

How stable are ecosystems? And how can stability be described and assessed using quantitative parameters? Providing answers to these seemingly simple questions is no easy task, as the stability of ecosystems can be measured at several levels – from individuals to complex species communities – using a variety of indicators at many different points in time. An international research team has now developed “estar”, a software programme that reflects this diversity of cases and allows for the standardised quantification of ecological stability. The software is presented in detail in a recently published article in the journal “Methods in Ecology and Evolution”.

March 3^rd, 2026 - A recent study published in PLOS ONE has shed light on public perceptions of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) in wildlife conservation across Czechia, Germany, and Italy.  The research, conducted as part of the BMBF supported BioRescue project, highlights public attitudes toward ART, awareness of the biodiversity crisis, and ethical considerations surrounding the use of these technologies to save critically endangered species, such as the Northern White Rhinoceros (NWR).

Climate change has a wide range of effects on wildlife. It affects seasonal migration, reproduction times, body size and mass, and disrupts ecological processes, thereby posing challenges for the populations of some species. An international team of scientists has now analysed more than 200 scientific studies on 73 animal species in a meta-study to determine exactly how climate change is related to phenology, morphology and population trends. The team explains in the journal Nature Communications that phenological traits – seasonal developmental phenomena – are very sensitive to temperature changes and that this represents a mechanism for many species to cope with climate change.

An international team of scientists analysed the ongoing colonization by two retroviruses of the germline of koalas and resulting deaths from cancer in multi-generational pedigrees of over 100 koalas in US and European Zoos. In the journal “Nature Communications”, they describe the genome sequencing of the koalas and their analysis of integration in or near genes involved in cancer, new germline integrations within a single generation, and deaths from cancer caused by the retroviral integration. Based on this work, the scientists calculated genetic risk scores (GRS) that can help guide koala breeding programs and thereby benefit koala conservation efforts.

Some bat species seek shelter during the day in the attics of large, mostly historic buildings within human settlements, even though they forage for insects at night in the dark surrounding countryside. This requires daily commuting between brightly lit districts and dark foraging grounds. A team at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) has shown that greater mouse-eared bats (Myotis myotis) – Germany’s largest bats – prefer to use sparsely lit or completely dark areas when commuting through residential areas. In the journal “Science of the Total Environment”, the team advocates for the preservation and expansion of dark corridors in towns and villages to protect nocturnal animals.

Bats such as the common noctule consume pest insects over intensively managed arable land and thereby support sustainable agriculture. A new study led by scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) and the University of Potsdam shows that 23 percent of the insect species consumed by common noctules in north-eastern Germany are pests. Yet, agriculture can only benefit from this free service provided by bats if there are sufficient near-natural habitats in the vicinity of agricultural land. This is where common noctules hunt disproportionately often; only in combination with near-natural habitats can bats find sufficient prey in an intensively farmed landscape, according to the scientists in a paper just published in the journal “Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment”.