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

The central goal of the Sonderforschungsbereich (SFB)/Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 1372 is to gain a comprehensive and multidisciplinary understanding of magnetoreception and navigation in vertebrates, from the biophysical mechanisms to the natural behaviour of navigating animals, taking into account all intermediate steps.

Scientists at six universities and institutes are working together in 17 sub-projects to reach this goal using the latest biochemical, neuroscientific, electrophysiological, physical, genetic and behavioural biology methods.

Understanding nature's GPS: the first 3D atlas of a migratory bird's brain

April 20, 2026 Neuroscientists of our SFB 1372, with Dominik Heyers as one of the study leaders and including Dinora Abdhulazanova as co-first author, have created the first open-source 3D brain atlas of a migratory bird, the Eurasian blackcap. Together with scientists from the Cluster of Excellence NaviSense and the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre (UCL, London), they used high-resolution microscopy and modern computational tools to build a detailed, interactive map of the avian brain at near-cellular resolution. The atlas reveals a previously unknown link between magnetosensory brain regions and the decision-making caudolateral nidopallium, offering new insights into how birds navigate. Freely available and continuously expandable, the atlas will help researchers worldwide compare data more easily and push forward studies on navigation, learning, and cognition.To learn more, watch our SciCom video and read the press release from University of Oldenburg.

Sirmpilatze N*, Felder A*, Abdulazhanova D*, Schwigon L, Tatarnikov I, Haase K, Musielak I, Kobylkov D, Margrie TW, Mouritsen H, Heyers D*, Tyson AL*, Weiler S*. An open-source three-dimensional digital brain atlas of a migratory bird, the Eurasian blackcap. Current Biology 2026, 36:2063-2077.e5. doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2026.03.034. Picture: D. Heyers.

Spring Meeting to prepare the 3rd funding period

March 9-11, 2026 Our SFB team convened at the Hotel Heidegrund in Garrel for an intensive meeting in preparation for the 3rd funding period. Over 55 researchers participated, engaging in project discussions, poster sessions, and focused small-group meetings, complemented by networking opportunities during coffee breaks. We made the most of the sunny spring weather with ‘walk-and-talk’ sessions, poster discussions outdoors and plenty of free time to socialise and exchange ideas. A dedicated session focused on generating ideas for equal opportunities and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives for the upcoming funding period. Many thanks to the entire team for these intensive and fruitful two and a half days! Photos: SFB 1372.

Nature publication with SFB contribution: Part of the avian retina functions permanently without oxygen

January 21, 2026 Neural tissue typically depends on a rich blood supply, yet birds present a striking exception: their retina, one of the most energy-demanding neural tissues, lacks internal blood vessels. A study led by scientists from Aarhus university together with SFB researchers Karin Dedek and Henrik Mouritsen shows that while the outer retina receives oxygen, the inner retina functions under chronic anoxia, sustained by anaerobic glycolysis. A specialized structure called the 'pecten' appears to solve this paradox by delivering glucose to the retina and removing lactic acid. This unusual metabolic arrangement may have enabled the evolution of a thick, avascular retina and later provided birds with a visual advantage during high-altitude flight. To learn more, watch our SciCom video on this surprising finding and read the press release from University of Oldenburg.

Damsgaard C, Skøtt MV, Williams CJA, [...], Dedek K, [...], Mouritsen H, et al. Oxygen-free metabolism in the bird inner retina supported by the pecten. Nature 650, 657–663 (2026). doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09978-w.

Children's book "Inas Reise - Vom Vogelzug eines Rotkehlchens"

October 20, 2025 With great enthusiasm and creativity, a team of our SFB 1372 has created a special children's book (Söker, Esens) that brings research to life. The story follows a robin on its journey between its breeding and wintering grounds, vividly capturing the experience of bird migration. With charming, detailed illustrations by Corinna Langebrake and accessible text by Beate Holm-Grünberg and Angelika Einwich, supported by the expertise of Miriam Liedvogel, the book combines current scientific insights - such as how birds use the Earth’s magnetic field for navigation - with an engaging narrative. In doing so, it makes complex research approachable and invites readers to explore.

A book for children, families, and anyone curious to experience nature and science from a fresh perspective. Please contact us if you are interested in purchasing a copy!

Photo: Miriam Liedvogel

Science publication of our Israelian project partners on head direction cells in free-flying bats

October 16, 2025 On the remote Latham Island off the coast of Tanzania, project members of our SFB, led by Prof. Nachum Ulanovsky of the Weizman Institute of Science, measured the brain activity of Egyptian fruit bats in the wild for the first time – and showed that head direction cells form a stable, global neural compass. The animals do not orient themselves by the moon, stars or magnetic field, but by landmarks – and need several nights to ‘learn’ this internal compass.

The study provides evidence that head direction cells also function outside the laboratory – a milestone in understanding navigation in mammals and possibly also in humans.

Further information can be found in the original publication and the press release of the University of Oldenburg (in German).

Palgi S, Ray S, Maimon SR, Waserman Y, Ben-Ari L, Eliav T, Tuval A, Cohen C, Keyyu JD, Ali AI, Mouritsen H, Las L, Ulanovsky N. Head-direction cells as a neural compass in bats navigating outdoors on a remote oceanic island. Science. 2025 Oct 16;390(6770):eadw6202.

Photo: Weizmann Institute of Science

Productive scientific exchange at this year’s autumn meeting

September 29-30, 2025 At this year’s autumn meeting, we once again had the opportunity to engage in vibrant scientific exchange, inspire one another, and discuss a wide range of topics in both large and small group settings — as well as enjoy informal conversations.

Over the course of two days, 65 members and associates of our SFB contributed to the program with lectures, poster presentations, and active participation in lively discussions during Walk & Talk sessions and small group meetings. The event took place in the BIS hall of the UOL. Photo: SFB 1372.

Nature paper with SFB participation on the stellar compass of Bogong moths

June 19, 2025 Every spring, billions of Bogong moths (Agrotis infusa) migrate hundreds of kilometres south to the Australian Alps. David Dreyer, former UOL graduate and now in Lund, and his colleagues, supported by the SFB, now report in a Nature study that the butterflies can only find their way with the help of the stars. The Bogong moth is thus the first invertebrate to be observed to use celestial navigation for its long-distance migration at night.

Our SFB Research Fellow and ant navigation expert Pauline Fleischmann comments on this in a short radio podcast on NPR media (listen here). Photo: Andrew Waugh.

New article by our Israeli project partners on the basics of memory consolidation in the hippocampus of fruit bats

June 13, 2025 Our SFB colleagues Nachum Ulanovsky and Shaket Palgi (sub-project Neu05) and their co-workers from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot have found in Egyptian fruit bats that the replay of large environments in the hippocampus is fragmented, which may facilitate memory chunking for hippocampal-neocortical communication. Find the entire study here in Cell press.

NaviSense is funded as Cluster of Excellence

May 22, 2025 Today, the DFG announced its decision on which of the Clusters of Excellences are to be funded. We are delighted that our colleagues' initiative “NaviSense: International Cluster of Excellence for the Sensory Basis, Mechanisms, and Impacts of Animal Navigation” is one of the clusters that will be funded for the next seven years.

Congratulations! We are looking forward to working with you on new perspectives in animal navigation research in the coming years! See also here for more information. Photo: NaviSense.

Spring meeting at the Ruhr University Bochum

April 2, 2025 For this year's spring meeting, 50 SFB members from Oldenburg, Wilhelmshaven and Berlin visited our colleagues from the Biopsychology Group at Ruhr University Bochum led by Onur Güntürkün. For three intensive and inspiring days, we exchanged scientific ideas, discussed projects and established new collaborations in scientific talks, poster sessions, small group meetings and walks and talks through the university's springtime botanical garden. Thank you to the entire Biopsychology group for the warm welcome and the informative lab tour! Photo: SFB 1372.

Watching electron motion in solids

March 26, 2025 Studying the extremely fast movements of electrons much easier than previously possible - as our SFB physicists Daniel Timmer, Antonietta de Sio and Christoph Lienau and co-workers report in their article "Phase-cycling and double-quantum two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy using a common-path birefringent interferometer". The new method allows for a variety of new experimental possibilities for spectroscopy and microscopy. The 2D spectroscopy is, e.g., ideally suited for probing coherent dynamics and charge transfer processes in erCry4 proteins.

See a report about their fascinating findings in the UOL news and the original article in 'Optica'. Photo: M. Gittinger.

Symposium on Animal Navigation

February 20, 2025 "Moving beyond the sensory basis and mechanisms of animal navigation" was the title of our 1st international symposium at Oldenburg university, with Miriam Liedvogel, Pauline Fleischmann and Ilia Solov'yov as scientific organisers.

With 110 participants coming from 10 different countries, including 22 speakers and 42 poster presenters and a programme ranging from how moths navigate to exotic quantum materials and robots that fly like birds, the symposium was a great success. Thanks to everyone that contributed and to the wonderful audience!

See also the article in the UOL news. Photo: SFB 1372.

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

Symposium on Animal Navigation

November 15, 2024 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, 17 invited speakers plus seven short talks will cover the multidisciplinary topics from behaviour and senses to robotics and environmental consequences of animal navigation.

We look forward to meeting you soon in Oldenburg!

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.’

Photo: Janne Brokate.

‘Ants are the coolest animals ever’ with Dr Pauline Fleischmann

September 19, 2024 In the latest episode of "Hirn gehört: Oldenburger Wissensschnack" (in German), Pauline talks about her favourite research animals: why they are more similar to humans than you might think, how we can use ants to better understand the general principles of neurobiology - and, of course, what she herself has discovered about their magnetic compass. Listen to the interview here (graphic by Hirn gehört).

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.

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!

Photo: SFB 1372.

SFB 1372 goes Nature

June 23, 2021 - With a great interdisciplinary team effort Xu et al. were able to add another piece to the puzzle of how quantum mechanics help birds find their way. Xu and colleagues were able to show the magnetic sensitivity of Cryptochrome 4 in migratory songbirds.

Congratulations to all the scientists involved! Read the full paper here.

Writing retreat for female scientists

The central currency for a successful scientific career are publications and third-party funding applications. In November 2019, the Royal Society of Chemistry in Nature published that there are still structural hurdles for women scientists to publicise. Therefore, the SFB 1372 invites all female scientists to a Writing Retreat from 2nd to 6th of March 2020 in the Seminarhaus Pegasus. The Scientific Writing Retreat offers female scientists a framework in which they can devote themselves to writing publications and third-party funding applications undisturbed and intensively.

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

Productive scientific exchange at this year’s autumn meeting

PI trip to the common tern colony and exhibition