Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior

Since May 2019, the former location of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell has been the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior based in Constance. The main focus of the scientific work at the institute is the investigation of collective animal behaviour and movements. The institute's scientists study such diverse animal groups as grasshoppers, fish, flying foxes, baboons and birds. State-of-the-art technologies help the researchers to investigate the behavior of animals in the wild or in the laboratory. With his project Icarus, Martin Wikelski investigates animal migrations around the globe. With the global system for animal observation, he can follow the movements of small animal species almost around the clock and anywhere on earth thanks to miniaturized measuring devices on the body of the animals and receiving antennas in space. His colleague Iain Couzin analyzes the complex movement patterns in swarms of animals using modern computer programs for image and movement recognition.