Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research

The mission of the IZW is to study the diversity of life histories, the mechanisms of evolutionary adaptations and their limits (including diseases) of free-ranging and captive wildlife, and its interrelationships with people and its environment. To undertake strategic, long-term, interdisciplinary basic and applied research programs in cooperation with zoos and other institutions, in order to contribute to the conservation and persistence of viable wildlife populations.

Background

We focus on the ecologically, economically, and culturally important larger mammals (particularly carnivores and herbivores) and selected bird species. These species are special because of their frequent role as keystone species in species-rich communities and ecosystems, because they are often at the centre of conflicts with human interests, and because their value as "flagship species" contributes disproportionately to the public acceptance of conservation. Larger mammals and birds have complex, often little understood evolutionary adaptations and frequently respond to disturbances and anthropogenic habitat changes in a sensitive manner. Because of their generally low densities, large space and habitat requirements, larger wildlife species are also good indicators of threats to global biodiversity and thus ultimately also of threats to the natural environment that the human population depends on for its own survival.

The life histories of larger mammals and birds, in particular their long generation times and high longevity, pose special difficulties for scientific research, since it requires strategic long-term projects to gain a sufficient understanding of their lifes. It is therefore not surprising that there is comparatively little knowledge about large wildlife species, even though such knowledge would be highly valuable for all aspects of species and habitat conservation.

Important key problems include:

• basic life history, reproductive biology, health status and diseases are little known for most larger wildlife species
  
• predictions on the response of wildlife populations to (increasing) anthropogenic disturbance ("stress resistance") are currently unreliable
  
• the scientific basis of the management of threatened free-ranging or captive populations is still far from complete.

IZW research projects are characterised by attention to focal points of interest. These include:

• long-term analyses of the life histories and adaptions of larger mammals in terrestrial ecosystems
  
• the link between proximate questions on mechanisms with theory-based predictions on the possible ultimate functions of traits as evolutionary adaptions and their effects on population dynamics (evolutionary ecology)
  
• the development of scientifically based concepts and methods for the active influence (management) of population developments (assisted reproduction, population viability, population control
  
• close cooperation between veterinarians and biologists in order to enjoy the full benefit of the complementary approaches of biology and veterinary science to clarify the functions and effects of evolutionary adaptations and their impact on wildlife populations
  
• research-oriented services to zoos and other institutions
  
• an interdisciplinary approach and the aggregation of research projects into key projects in cooperation with numerous national and international partners
  
• a close coordination of lab-based analyses and field work including experimental approaches and using the institute´s own field station;
  
• the development of new and the improvement of already existing minimally invasive or non-invasive methods, particularly
  
  
  • the extraction of DNA from faeces and remote-controlled biopsies
    
  • the detailed recording of long-term activity rhythms in the field using specialized telemetry equipment
  • the extraction of saliva for epidemiological, hormonal and biochemical questions
    
  • the analysis of faeces: analysis of hormones (glucocorticoids and reproductive hormones and their metabolites, and the identification of food plants using n-alkanes
    
  • the analysis of urine and volatile substances: analysis of hormones (glucocorticoids and reproductive hormones and their metabolites) and pheromones
    
  • ultrasonography
  
  
• the maintenance and expansion of unique collections, particularly in wildlife pathology and anatomy (pathological-anatomical reference collection, (pathological-anatomical reference collection)

Research programs
IZW scientists are grouped into six research groups covering three areas of emphasis: evolutionary ecology, wildlife diseases, and reproductive biology. All research groups conduct projects that fall within currently six research programs:

• evolutionary adaptations of herbivores
  
• behavioural ecology, health status and reproduction of carnivores
  
• behavioural ecology, health status and reproduction of megaherbivores
  
• causes of decline and population dynamics of threatened wildlife populations
  
• evolutionary and reproductive foundations of managing population persistence of threatened wildlife populations
  
• comparative evolutionary research.

The IZW runs projects in Germany, Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.

National and international cooperation

The IZW enjoys close relationships with and conducts joint projects with research institutes and universities and various institutions dedicated to biological conservation, such as protected area administrations:

• participation in and active development of inter-institutional research networks (for example the research network on biodiversity within the group of German Leibniz institutes to which the IZW belongs
  
• the implementation of joint research projects and scientific meetings with international research institutes in France, Poland, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Great Britain and USA
  
• the implementation of many cooperation contracts and research projects with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Free University Berlin, and other German and international universities
  
• implementation of research programmes within the European breeding program EEP
  
• cooperation with protected areas, national parks and development projects in Berlin, Brandenburg, France, Poland, Tanzania and Namibia
  
• cooperative projects with zoos in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, France, Great Britain, and the USA
  
• participation in research and teaching activities in the postgraduate college on "evolutionary transformations and faunistic transitions" in conjunction with the Natural History Museum at the Humboldt-University of Berlin.