LIB-Magazine - The magazine for biodiversity

The LIB’s director general Prof Dr Dr hc Bernhard Misof (centre) together with his deputies Prof Dr Mariella Herberstein and Prof Dr Christoph Scherber.

Dear readers,

The Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) took its place on the map of research museums five years ago. In these five years, the Museum Koenig Bonn and the Museum of Nature Hamburg have grown into a joint research museum – bringing together their people, their collections, research projects, and educational programmes. These five years have also allowed us to develop a network with partners from the areas of research, business, politics, culture, and society. We all are united by the goal of improving our understanding of biodiversity change from a variety of perspectives, translating knowledge into action, and developing solutions to ensure a sustainable future.

We at the LIB have made building of knowledge and making it accessible to everyone our social mission. It’s the same goal that shapes our mission statement, developed in a participatory process with our employees. Our passion for nature is the driving force for our collaboration unrestricted by discipline boundaries or national borders.
Our network is expanding along with the opportunities we find to make a difference together. All of this makes “joining forces” more than empty words. Rather, the expression describes the core of our actions – and serves as the guiding principle of this LIB magazine. It stands for cooperation, for exchange, and for the conviction that we can only answer the major questions of biodiversity change together – in order to preserve the diversity of life for future generations.
We invite you to be part of this network and our vibrant, growing research museum. We look forward to shaping and inspiring the future together with you.

Your Prof Dr Dr hc Bernhard Misof

Joining forces for discovery and protection
more

Creating perspectives – building understanding
more

Sharing knowledge – shaping the future together
more

To the LIB website

All articles

Tales of the ocean

Three researchers at the LIB are fighting for greater biodiversity in our oceans and show why this is also crucial for our lives on land with a focus on silent hunters, tiny crustaceans, and genetic early warning systems.

Read article

The collection of a lifetime

Renowned evolutionary biologist Dr Christoph Schubart spent close to thirty years collecting crustaceans from 85 countries. His significant collection was bequeathed to the LIB following his sudden death, with parts of it residing in the Crustacea Archive in Hamburg and the Biobank in Bonn each. Let us tell the story of relocating a lifetime’s work of science and talk about a collector who made his home all over the world.

Read article

Time capsules from outer space

How is a piece of rock from space connected to biodiversity on Earth? Quite closely, as geologist Dr Stefan Peters explains. Meteorites, he says, have the effect of time capsules and can teach us plenty about the origin of Earth.

Read article

At the intersection of the present day and Earth’s history

Spider researcher Dr Danilo Harms and palaeontologist Dr Ulrich Kotthoff both work in amber, which forms the intersection of the current day and Earth’s history. Comparing modern arachnids to inclusions from ancient forests, they explore what Europe’s fauna of 50 million years ago can teach us about biodiversity changes today.

Read article

Natural diversity

Same-sex penguin parents, dominant female clownfish, and a snail with two sexes: An open-minded look at nature reveals that there is no norm outside of diversity. Learn about how Darwin’s traditional worldview still continues to shape biology, and why queer perspectives enrich the research of biodiversity.

Read article

Global research, local action

Scientists from the LIB cooperate with local researchers in Ecuador and Madagascar in order to understand and conserve biodiversity in the scope of projects to protect endangered species and train people on site, on student field trips to share knowledge and conduct research as a collaborative effort, and in a science centre that expands research capacities. Let’s have a look at three collaborations at the world’s greatest biodiversity hotspots.

Read article

One Health, One Future: For a healthy future

An unassuming bird specimen in our natural history collection holds some important secrets. In its tissue, pathogens are preserved that continue to cause disease even now. Amongst them are influenza viruses, the cause of the flu. If they mutate and jump to humans, a single infection could trigger a pandemic.

Read article

Data for greater biodiversity

New monitoring systems can help farmers to commit to greater biodiversity in a way that even policymakers can see. Researchers at the LIB are developing these systems in a number of projects to contribute to a new foundation for the allocation of subsidies. Large sums are at stake for farmers here.

Read article

Art meets biodiversity

A robin hovers above a colourful flower meadow at the heart of the city in a graffiti mural that covers an entire building facade where everyone can see it. Merging art and science, the mural demonstrates that nature is precious, beautiful, and worthy of protection. The InUrFaCE e.V. association brought researchers from the LIB together with internationally renowned urban artists in a workshop that created a number of designs subsequently brought to life in the streets at the LIB’s two locations in Bonn and Hamburg by street artists.

Read article

With a view to society

The LIB is broadening its perspective by establishing the first social science professorship at a German natural history museum, combining biodiversity research with analysis of societal changes. Prof Dr Dr hc Bernhard Misof, director general at the LIB, and Prof Dr Simone Rödder, head of knowledge transfer at the same institution, explain in this interview how the LIB is repositioning itself as a research institution for analysing biodiversity in habitats and, at the same time, as a forum for societal dialogue about our relationship with nature.

Read article

A new natural history museum for Hamburg

Hamburg is getting a new natural history museum. Firmly integrated into the cityscape, it is to become a place of knowledge and encounters, closing the gap left in Hamburg’s museum landscape by the destruction of the important Natural History Museum in 1943 during World War II. The futuristic Elbtower could become its new home.

Read article

The GOAT gang shapes the future

Made by young people for young people: Co-creative workshops developed innovative formats for our digital learning platform “Natur Entdecken Online” (NEO; Discovering Nature Online) on rainforests and sustainable consumption, along with ideas for museum activities, last year. This collaborative project that involved the LIB and the Alexander-Koenig-Gesellschaft, is targeted at genuine participation of young refugees who have not been living in Germany for more than a few years. Leo, Delicia, and Kavin share their experiences, from palm oil checks and video shoots to new friendships.

Read article

Column: Knowledge in motion

A narwhal came to Hamburg 340 years ago. It brought with it a story that we long considered finished. Sometimes, however, new methods or fresh perspectives will break down an old puzzle of certainty, driving home that knowledge is rarely final.

Read article

The magazine of the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change

Contents

All articles

Tales of the ocean

The collection of a lifetime

Time capsules from outer space

At the intersection of the present day and Earth’s history

Natural diversity

Global research, local action

One Health, One Future: For a healthy future

Data for greater biodiversity

Art meets biodiversity

With a view to society

A new natural history museum for Hamburg

The GOAT gang shapes the future

Column: Knowledge in motion