Ornithology

Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum

Frankfurt am Main is the headquarters location of Senckenberg – Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research (SGN). It is the home of the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, which also comprises the research stations Weimar, Gelnhausen, and the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Messel Pit.”

Research

The research focus of the section is on the early evolution and higher-level phylogeny of birds.

Collection

The ornithological collections include about 90000 bird skins, 994 mounted specimens in the exhibition, about 19000 skeletons, 4000 spirit specimens, and 5050 egg clutches.

Team

Dr. Gerald Mayr is the head of the Section Ornithology.

Terrestrial Zoology

Arachnology

The arachnology section is founded on a long-standing tradition of the Senckenberg museum. Research of the arachnology section falls into the area "Biodiversity and Systematics".

Entomology I

Our research program lies at the interface of integrative taxonomic-systematics, ecological biogeography, and bioinformatic modeling, with a particular focus on probing macroecology and macroevolutionary questions. Particular emphasis is placed on unveiling evolutionary processes shaping the evolution of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae), a superfamily of over 40,000 species.

Entomology II

The collections of Entomology II comprise the Hymenoptera and “Insecta Varia” (apterygote orders, Polyneoptera, Psocodea, Hemiptera, Neuropterida, Siphonaptera, and Mecoptera).

Entomology III  – Lepidoptera and Trichoptera

The Entomology III team conducts research into the evolution, speciation, ecological adaptation and distribution primarily of caddisflies and moths.

Herpetology

Our research activities focus on the study of the Neotropical herpetofauna (Central and South America). Currently, faunistic and zoogeographic studies are undertaken in the following countries: Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, and Bolivia. Our studies are taxonomic, zoogeographic, and phylogenetic in nature.

Hessische Naturwaldreservate – Zoological research in strict forest reserves in Hesse (Germany)

Since the Year of Nature Conservation in 1970 the setup of strict forest reserves throughout Germany was intensified, to gain a spectrum of reserves, which allow an undisturbed development of forest communities and their investigation.