In the wolf knowledge project, the focus is on conveying factual knowledge to children and young people. Through playful formats, important information about living in a “wolf country” is to be conveyed, such as correct behavior in the event of a wolf encounter.
The Wolfwissen project is part of the Leibniz Association’s Action Plan II, a joint project of the eight Leibniz research museums that is dedicated to promoting dialogue and exchange between science and society regarding present-day societal challenges. Here, the wolf’s migration to new areas and the wolf’s return to Germany reflect the common motto “A world in motion”. The Wolfswissen project is based at the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, and carried out in close cooperation with the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Frankfurt.
Attractively designed digital applications will be installed in a museum setting to convey wolf-related information in a way that is suitable for children and young people. The presented content will encompass, for example, information on correct behavior in the event of a wolf encounter, but also insights into the everyday work of wolf researchers. The application will be available in various Leibniz museums from spring 2022.
My main research interests are human relationships with, and the conservation of nature in general and wildlife in particular. For my PhD at Greifswald University, I investigated genetic aspects of lesser horseshoe bat recolonization in Central Germany. During the associated fieldwork and interaction with roost managers and other stakeholders, I discovered my interest for the human dimensions of wildlife conservation. As a postdoc at the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, I am currently implementing two projects addressing socio-psychological aspects of wolf conservation, with a strong focus on the role of factual knowledge. (You are invited to test your own knowledge about wolves in my Leibniz quiz.) Inspired by this work and my integrative nature education training (Wildnispädagogik), I have also developed a keen interest in human-nature relationships in general and their ramifications for nature conservation and people’s quality of life.
Peer-reviewed publications
Lehnen, L., Arbieu, U., Böhning-Gaese, K., Díaz, S., Glikman, J.A., Mueller, T. (2022). Rethinking individual relationships with entities of nature. People and Nature, 3(7). https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10296
Lehnen, L., Mueller, T., Reinhardt, I., Kaczensky, P., & Arbieu, U. (2021). Gesellschaftliche Einstellungen zur Rückkehr des Wolfs nach Deutschland. Natur und Landschaft, Schwerpunktausgabe: Luchs und Wolf zurück in Deutschland, 27–33. https://www.natur-und-landschaft.de/de/news/gesellschaftliche-einstellungen-zur-ruckkehr-des-wolfs-nach-deutschland-1617
de Boon, A., Sandström, C., Arbieu, U., Hansen, I., Lehnen, L., Marino, A., Pohja-Mykrä, M., Risvoll, C., Strand, G.-H., & Rønningen, K. (2021). Governing dual objectives within single policy mixes: An empirical analysis of large carnivore policies in six European countries. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 23(4), 399–413. https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2020.1841614
Lehnen, L.*, Jan, P.-L., Besnard, A.-L., Fourcy, D., Kerth, G., Biedermann, M., Nyssen, P., Schorcht, W., Petit, E. J., & Puechmaille, S. J. (2021). Genetic diversity in a long-lived mammal is explained by the past’s demographic shadow and current connectivity. Molecular Ecology, 30(20), 5048–5063. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16123 (*Lehnen & Jan equally contributed to this work as first authors. Petit & Puechmaille equally contributed as senior authors.)
Jan, P.-L., Lehnen, L.*, Besnard, A.-L., Kerth, G., Biedermann, M., Schorcht, W., Petit, E. J., Le Gouar, P., Puechmaille, S. J. (2019). Range expansion is associated with increased survival and fecundity in a long-lived bat species. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 286(1906), 20190384. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0384 (Lehnen & Jan equally contributed to this work as first authors. Petit, Le Gouar, and Puechmaille equally contributed as senior authors.)
Lehnen, L., Schorcht, W., Karst, I., Biedermann, M., Kerth, G., & Puechmaille, S. J. (2018). Using Approximate Bayesian Computation to infer sex ratios from acoustic data. PLOS ONE, 13(6), e0199428. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0199428
Zarzoso‐Lacoste, D.*, Jan, P., Lehnen, L., Girard, T., Besnard, A., Puechmaille, S. J., & Petit, E. J. (2018). Combining noninvasive genetics and a new mammalian sex‐linked marker provides new tools to investigate population size, structure and individual behaviour: An application to bats. Molecular Ecology Resources, 18(2), 217–228. https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.12727 (*Zarzoso-Lacoste & Jan equally contributed to this work as first authors.)
