Research Institutes

Research interests

• Evolutionary mechanisms of advanced sociality
• Alternative reproductive tactics
• Cooperation
• Life-history trade-offs

Methods

• Behavioural field and lab experiments
• Evolutionary modelling
• Molecular parentage analysis
• Energetics, telemetry

Study species

• Fish (cichlids, labrids)
• Insects (bark beetles)
• Birds (cuckoos)
• Mammals (rats)

Research interests

• Behavioural Ecology
• Life history strategies
• Animal Communication
• Parental care
• Development of Behaviour
• Neuroethology
• Ontogeny
• Competitive interactions (inter-and intraspecific)
• Optimal foraging
• Antipredator Behaviour
• Applied Ethology

Methods

• Behavioural experiments
• Electrophysiology
• Neuro-Histology
• Respirometry
• Radiotelemetry
• molecular population genetics
• Bioacoustics

Study species

• Song birds (zebra finches, blue tits), laying hens
• Rodents (voles, guinea pigs, cavies)
• Shrews
• Marine mammals (Galapagos sea lions)

Bachelor and Masters Program

• Master "Systems Biology of Brain and Behaviour"
   read more

Research interests

• Sensory perception
• Sensory Ecology
• Electromotor behaviour
• Bionik
• Animal Cognition
• Object Recognition
• Sensory Physiology
• Behavioural Physiology
• Neurobiology

Methods

• Animal Psychophysics
• Operant Conditioning
• Neuroethology
• Behavioural Experiments
• Field work
• Biomimetics
• Electrophysiology
• Neuroanatomie
• Particle Image Velocimetry

Study species

• Weakly electric fish: Gnathonemus petersii, Eigenmannia virescens, Polliymrus adspersus, Petrocephalus sp., Marcusenius sp.
• Goldfish (Carassius auratus), Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Ray (Potamotrygon motoro)
• Snakes: Python regius, Spitting cobras (Naja nigricollis, Naja Pallida), Crotalus atrox, Corallus hortulanus, Sea snakes (Lapemis curtus)
• Insects: Melanophila acuminata, Acanthocnemus nigricans, Merimna atrata

Bachelor and Masters Program

• Bachelor “Biology”
   read more
• Master Program: “Organismic Biology, Evolutionary Biology and Palaeobiology (OEP-Biology)”
• Master Program: “Neurobiology”

Research interests

• Bioakustik/Bioacoustics
• Sozialverhalten und Soziometrie/ Social behaviour and sociometrics
• Lernverhalten und Emotionen/ Learning and emotions
• Kognitive Verhaltensanreicherung/ Cognitive enrichment
• Artgerechte Tierhaltung/ Animal welfare
• Psychosozialer Stress/ Psychosocial stress
• Psychoimmunologie/ psychoimmunology

Methods

• Lautanalyse/ Vocal analysis
• standardisierte Verhaltenstests/ Standardized behavioural tests
• Erfassung/Analyse soziometrischer Parameter/ Sociometric parameters
• automatisierte operante Konditionierung/ Automated operant conditioning
• Hormonanalytik, Immunreaktivität/ Hormone analytic, immunoreactivity
• Telemetrie/ Telemetry
• Herzfrequenz/Herzfrequenzvarabilität/ Heart-rate and heart-rate-variability

Study species

• Rind/Cattle
• Schwein/Pig
• Zwergziege/Dwarf goats

Research interests

• Phenotypic plasticity
• Abnormal behaviour
• Animal welfare
• Companion animal behaviour
• Behavioural therapy

Methods

• Behavioural tests
• Video tracking
• Endocrinology
• Behaviour therapy and training

Study species

• laboratory rodents (mouse, rat)
• farm animals (chicken, rabbit)
• companion animals (dog, horse)

Research interests

• Applied Ethology
• Animal Welfare
• Abnormal Behaviour
• Chronobiology
• Social Behaviour
• Breeding Behaviour
• Animal Communication
• Behavioural Ecology

Methods

• Direct behavioral observations
• Video and computer aided behavioral analyses
• Hormon analyses (collaboration)
• Acoustic analyses

Study species

• great apes
• spider monkeys
• lion, tiger, rusty spotted cat
• elephant
• giraffe, okapi
• wisent
• mustelids
• kiwi
• farm animal (sheep, rabbit)

Research interests

• primate behavior and ecology
• human ethology
• phylogeography
• Madagascar

Methods

• field observations
• radio-tracking
• paternity and kinship analyses
• endocrinology
• acoustic playbacks

Study species

• lemurs
• tamarins
• humans

Bachelor and Masters Program

• Bachelor: Biology
• Bachelor: Biological diversity and ecology
• Masters: behavioral and Neural science

Research interests

• Endocrinology
• Sexual selection
• Behaviour and Ecology
• Conservation
• Indonesian wildlife

Methods

• Hormone analysis
• Field observations
• Genetic analysis
• Acoustic analysis and playbacks
• GIS

Study species

• Apes
• Macaques
• Langurs
• Lemurs
• Rhinos
• Elephants

Research interests

• Communication
• Cognition
• Social Behavior
• Evolution of Speech

Methods

• Acoustic Analysis
• Playback Experiments
• Operant Conditioning
• Modeling
• GIS
• Genetics
• Hormonal Analysis (collaboration)

Study species

• Papio spp.
• Macaca spp.
• Humans
• Mice (collaboration)
• Dogs (collaboration)

Bachelor and Masters Program

• Bachelor Biology; Focus on Behavioural and Neural Science
• M.Sc. in Behavioral and Neural Science (as of 2009)
• B.Sc, M.Sc. Biological Diversity and Ecology

Research interests

• Social complexity in vertebrates, notably birds
• The biology of cognition in vertebrates, notably birds, including social cognition and cooperation
• Human-Animal Interactions

Methods

• Quantitative behavioural biology
• Non-invasive measurements of steroid hormones, mostly from bird faeces
• Touch-screen work with birds

Study species

• free-living greylag geese (Anser anser)
• free-living and aviary ravens (Corvus corax) and jackdaws (Corvus monedula)
• free-living Northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita)
• wolves (; Canis lupus; to come) in enclosures
• humans, cats and dogs

Bachelor and Masters Program

• We invite applications for cooperation in our projects. This can also be in fulfillment of PhD, masters or bachelors programs at a particular home university (individual arrangements). K. Kotrschal in cooperation with the other KLF researchers is entitled to supervise such projects in case students are enrolled at the University of vienna.

Research interests

• Sociobiology
• Social stress
• Reproductive strategies
• Behavioral ecology
• Chronobiology
• Hormonhysiology
• Phylogeography
• Hamster systematics

Methods

• Telemetry
• Video analysis
• RFID-based activity registration
• Heart rate and body temperature registration
• Histology
• Hormonal analysis
• Molecular Biology

Study species

• Hamster (Cricetinae)
• Gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus)

Bachelor and Masters Program

• General Zoology
• Behavioral Biology

Research interests

• Evolution of sociality
• Reproductive strategies
• Sexual selection & sexual conflict
• Sexual cannibalism
• Life history
• Acustic communication
• Conflict management

Methods

• Behavioural field and lab experiments
• Paternity analysis using sterile males
• Bioacoustic measurements, playback experiments
• Post conflict-matched control observations

Study species

• Spiders (orb-web spiders and social spiders)
• Birds (parrots)

Research interests

• Life history strategies
• Animal communication
• Behavioural ecology, sexual selection
• Behavioural and evolutionary conflicts
• Parental care
• Genetics and development of behaviour
• Personalities

Methods

• Behavioural experiments
• Bioacoustics
• Respirometry
• Radiotelemetry
• Quantitative genetics

Study species

• Song birds (great tits, blue tits, pied flycatchers, nightingales)

Research interests

• Primate Cognition
• Primate Communication
• Primate Cooperation
• Primate Social Learning
• Social Cognition in Domestic Dogs

Methods

• Observational
• Experimental

Study species

• All 4 great ape species
• Domestic dogs

Bachelor and Masters Program

• Accept applications for both Masters and PhD (directly to department)

Research interests

• Evolution of cognitive abilities in animals
• Evolution of social behaviour
• Fission-fusion societies and cognitive evolution
• Conflict resolution
• Animal welfare
• Conservation

Methods

• Behavioural and endocrinological field and lab experiments
• Behavioural observations
• Telemetry, GIS, metabolite profiling, morphological measurements, habitat assessment

Study species

• Birds – songbirds, parrots
• Primates – spider monkeys, macaques, chimpanzees, humans

Research interests

• Host-parasite coevolution
• Phylogeography
• Chemical ecology
• Sexual selection
• Conflict and cooperation in societies

Methods

• Behavioural experiments
• Field manipulations and observations
• Population and sociogenetics (Microsatellites and Sequencing)
• Gas chromatography and Mass spectrometry
• Dissections and morphometry

Study species

• Ants (Slavemaking ants, social parasites, army ants, invasive species)
• Myrmecophiles (Spiders, silverfish, snails, etc.)

Bachelor and Masters Program

• Bachelor in Biology at the LMU
   read more
• Master in Evolution, Ecology and Systematics (founded by VW foundation)
   read more

Research interests

• Hormones, Brain and Behaviour
  - molecular genetic and neuroendocrine bases of behaviour
• Function and Regulation of the Stress Hormone Systems
  - focus: alterations in neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders
• Gene – Environment Interactions, Epigenetics
  - modulation of genetic predispositions by social and non-social factors

Methods

• Behavioural experiments
  - emotionality and coping styles
  - activity rhythms, learning and memory
  - social behaviour, parental care
• Neuroendocrine investigations
  - testing reactivity and feedback regulation of the HPA axis
  - measurement of hormones, neuropeptides and neurotransmitters
  - non-invasive monitoring of steroid hormone metabolites in faecal samples
• Functional neuroanatomy and pharmacology
  - gene expression profiling in different brain areas
  - neuronal plasticity measurements and microdialysis
  - effects of neuromodulatory substances and drugs on emotionality

Study species

• Laboratory mice
  - animal models generated by selective breeding or targeted genetic manipulation

Research interests

• Evolution of Social & Mating Systems
• Domestication
• Stress & Welfare
• Neuroendocrine and Molecular Basis of Behaviour
• Gene X Environment Interaction
• Behavioural Development
• Dialogue: Life Sciences & the Humanities

Methods

• Direct observations, video and computer aided behavioral analyses
• RFID based monitoring and tracking
• Determination of endocrinological measures from blood, saliva and faeces (ELISA, RIA)
• Genetic fingerprinting
• Genotyping (PCR)

Study species

• Domestic and different species of wild guinea pigs
• Different strains of mice, including knockout and transgenic mice
• Different zoo and farm animals

Bachelor and Masters Program

• Graduate Program “Otto-Creutzfeldt-Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience”
   read more

Research interests

• social evolution
• kin conflict, conflict resolution, and “reconciliation”
• evolution of life histories and reproductive strategies in social insects
• phylogeography and phylogeny of ants
• proximate mechanisms of hierarchy formation and reconciliation
• chemical communication (fertility signaling, genetic and environmental determinants of chemical signals)
• sexual selection in social insects

Methods

• DNA amplification, sequencing of nuclear and mtDNA
• Microsatellites; population genetic and sociogenetic analyses
• Behavioral observations and experimental manipulations
• Gas chromatography, mass spectrometry
• Histology, electron microscopy etc.

Study species

• Various ant genera, including Cardiocondyla, Chalepoxenus, Leptothorax, Myrmoxenus, Pachycondyla, Platythyrea, Temnothorax

Bachelor and Masters Program

• Bachelor Biology and Master Biology, with emphasis on “Evolutionary Biology and Molecular Ecology”

Research interests

• Evolution of body size and sexual size dimorphism
• Thermal Adaptation
• Life History Evolution
• Evolutionary & Community Ecology
• Sexual & Natural Selection
• Sperm Competition
• Mating Behavior
• Population Biology
• Quantitative Genetics
• Physiological Ecology
• Functional Morphology
• Dung Biodiversity Research

Methods

• Quantitative & Population Genetics
• Laboratory & Field Experiments
• Phylogenetic Methods
• Behavioral Assays & Experiments
• Physiological Methods

Study species

• Primarily Insects; in particular
• Yellow Dung Flies (Scathophagidae)
• Various Sepsid Flies (Sepsidae; Schwingfliegen)

Bachelor and Masters Program

• M.Sc. programs in Biology, Ecology, Behavioral Sciences, Systematics & Evolution
   http://www.biologie.uzh.ch/index.html