Magnetoreception and navigation in vertebrates: from biophysics to brain and behaviour

Registration for our Symposium on Animal Navigation now open

We are excited to invite you to our 1st international symposium on "Moving beyond the sensory basis and mechanisms of animal navigation" which will take place from 18 to 20 February 2025 at the University of Oldenburg!

In four different sessions, 16 invited speakers plus eight short talks will cover the multidisciplinary topics from behaviour and senses to robotics and environmental consequences of animal navigation. 

Go directly to the registration here. We look forward to meeting you soon in Oldenburg!

New publication of our Research Fellow Pauline Fleischmann

December 10, 2024 In her brand-new publication in Current Biology, Pauline and her team report that desert ants use a different mechanism for magnetic perception than most insects studied so far, such as the famous monarch butterflies. The researchers suggest that the desert ants' magnetic sense is based on tiny magnetic particles, such as the iron oxide mineral magnetite.

For a summary in German, find the UOL press release here. 

Photo: Robin Grob

Microscopy photo "Visible vision"of Janne Brokate (Neu01) wins 3rd prize

November 20, 2024 Congratulations to Janne Brokate, former Bachelor student in the Neu01 project, who took 3rd place (out of 56 applicants) in the ‘Research under the Lens’ photo competition organised by the University of Oldenburg!

‘What at first glance looks like abstract art is actually a symbol of the wonders of nature: As part of my bachelor's thesis, I stained various cells of the retina with fluorescent antibodies and photographed them under a microscope. Beauty is not only in the eye of the beholder, but sometimes also in the observation of an eye.’

TV report and blog interview with Research Fellow Dr Pauline Fleischmann

October 25, 2024 The German television channel NDR reported on the research of Pauline and her team - you can find the report here. 

Pauline was also interviewed by the Myrmecological News Blog. Read the article about ‘Navigating through the postdoc career while exploring navigation systems in Cataglyphis desert ants’ (picture by Robin Grob). 

Autumn meeting at the UOL

September 30 & October 1, 2024 At this year's autumn meeting, 60 members and associated scientists presented talks and posters, discussed existing and new collaborations in small groups and at walk & talks - as always in a very stimulating and communicative atmosphere.

The winners of our 2nd poster competition were: 1st Annika, 2nd Baladev, 3rd Chiara, Timo, Nathalie and Jingjing. 

Congratulations on your outstanding posters!

SFB 1372 at Instagram

August 14, 2024 Follow us on our new launched instagram channel! We look forward to keeping you informed about ongoing projects, workshops, publications and other news about our SFB.

New article of our Nav02 researchers

April 17, 2024  With their review on "A conceptual framework on the role of magnetic cues in songbird migration ecology" (Karwinkel et al., Biological Reviews), Thiemo and his co-authors summarise the methodological approaches for assessing magnetic-cue-related hypotheses in migratory songbirds and evaluate their contribution to understanding these processes in the wild. They also present a conceptual framework investigating how magnetic cues might affect migratory decisions from stopovers to active migratory flight towards their destination. 

Collaborative study on "Adaptive evolution and loss of a putative magnetoreceptor in passerines" published.

April 11, 2024 The news portal of the UOL reports on a genetic study that supports the hypothesis that proteins in the eye of migratory birds are responsible for magnetoreception. Six researchers of our SFB are co-authors of this study (Langebrake et al., Proceedings of the Royal Society B). Please find the press release here. 

Spring meeting with poster prize

March 18-20, 2024 Fifty-eight SFB members and associates met, as last year, at the Thülsfelder Talsperre near Garrel for our spring meeting. We enjoyed the research talks and had plenty of time for discussion and interaction during two poster sessions, four small group meetings and a long walk & talk around the lake. For the first time, there was a poster award for the three best posters of the doctoral students and postdocs. Congratulations to Annika, Sascha and Nathalie! We look forward to meeting all of you soon in September at the UOL!

Writing retreat for female scientists on Langeoog

March 2024 For four days, female junior researchers from our SFB were able to concentrate on writing papers at a self-organised writing retreat on the East Frisian island of Langeoog. The weather was glorious and we were able to go for a walk on the beach to clear our heads for new creativity. 

Migratory mosquito bats (Pipistrellus pygmaeus) can perceive the Earth's magnetic field

December 6, 2023 Oliver Lindecke and his colleagues from Bangor University and University of Latvia found that the these bats seem to be sensitive to the inclination angle of the field, similar to birds (published in "Biological Letters" of the Royal Society).

Please find the UOL press release (only in German) and the original article here. 

Picture: Christian Giese

The SFB subsidised bike trailers for Pauline's "For Woman in Science" award

November 2023 The SFB 1372 has increased Pauline's prize money to purchase a total of four trailers. Interested parties from Faculty V of the UOL can contact mobile.gleichstellung.fk5[at]uol.de. Allocation is on a first-come, first-served basis, with female students and doctoral candidates having priority due to their financial means. More information here. 

PhD day in Wilhelmshaven 

July 5, 2023 The PhD Day in Wilhelmshaven was marked by stormy winds and cheerful minds. Highlights for the doctoral students of the SFB 1372 were the team-building activities, the input on mental health and the guided tour of the Wadden Sea Visitor Centre. Unfortunately, due to the weather conditions, we had to forego the trip to the colony of common terns at Banter See.

Kick-off meeting of the second funding period

March 20 & 21, 2023  Our two-day kick-off meeting took place at the Thülsfelder Talsperre near Garrel. We particularly enjoyed the discussions about the newly founded iRTG and a workshop on "Feedback Culture" led by Birgit Keydel (coach for team development). During a "Walk & Talk" along the lake, old and new members were able to get to know each other and exchange.