Welcome to the Institute of Zoology

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The main research interest common to all departments within the Institute of Zoology is on Comparative Zoology, focusing on organismic biology, and specializing in system-oriented neurobiology. A distinctive and unique characteristic of the Department of Zoology in Bonn is the integration of comparative sensory physiology, sensory ecology and fish cognition. 

We primarily work on

•  sensory physiology

o   active and passive electroreception

o   reception of hydrodynamic stimuli in fishes and cocodiles

o   infrared reception in pyrophilous insects

•  integration of sensory and motor systems

o   generation and coordination of rhythmic movements in invertebrates

o   swimming behavior of fishes in turbulent flow

• fish cognition

o   visual object recognition in sharks and teleosts

o   spatial orientation of cartilaginous fish and its neuronal basis 

This focus is complemented by a comparative neuroanatomy group that studies the functional morphology of the central neuronal system.  

The systemic orientation of the institute includes research on the evolutionary basis and biodiversity of sensory systems. Our research in sensory physiology has led to several application-oriented projects in the field of biomimetics. We are developing technical sensor systems for the detection and analysis of hydrodynamic flow, electric fields and infrared radiation by transferring the principles of stimulus reception and processing in animals to technology. 

According to the broad range of research interests a wide variety of scientific methods is applied across the institute and plenty of courses are being offered to both Bachelor and Master students. These courses include studies on organismic zoology, physiology, neurobiology and biomimetics.