Press - LIB

Here you will find current press releases and images of our research centre and exhibitions. The press images may only be used for current reporting and only in connection with the LIB and may not be cropped or altered. The use of our press material is free of charge.

If you would like to produce photo or video recordings in our museums, please use our application form for photo and film permission and make an appointment with us.

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Press contact

Dipl. Biol. Alexandra Hostert

Head of Communications and Press, Bonn

Phone: +49 228 9122 215, mobil +49 170 2747 926
E-Mail: a.hostert@leibniz-lib.de

Press contact

Mareen Gerisch

Head of Communications and Press, Hamburg

Phone: +49 40 238317 908, mobil +49 160 90853213
E-Mail: m.gerisch@leibniz-lib.de

Florian Steinkröger

Media Editor

Phone: +49 40 238317 920
E-Mail: f.steinkroeger@leibniz-lib.de

Dr. Franziska Ahnert-Michel

Cross-media communications officer

Phone: +49 40 238317 909
E-Mail: f.ahnert-michel@leibniz-lib.de

Marketing

Lucia Behrend-Jauernig

Marketing

Phone: +49 40 238317 924
E-Mail: l.behrend@leibniz-lib.de

Latest press releases

Keeping pace with climate change: Genetic exchange enables rapid adaptation in songbirds
Research Museum of Nature Hamburg Museum Koenig Bonn Press release
17 October 2025
Exchange of genetic diversity between species accelerates evolutionary adaptation
Possible location for new natural history museum found
Research Museum of Nature Hamburg Press release Knowledge transfer
14 October 2025
Hamburg is to receive a new, forward-looking natural history museum with research laboratories and a scientific collection. This was unanimously decided by the city parliament in 2021. The examination of various locations by the Senate...
Elbe estuary in transition: dramatic changes in the fish fauna over the last 40 years
Research Museum of Nature Hamburg Press release
25 September 2025
A study spanning almost four decades paints a clear picture of the changing fish fauna in the Elbe estuary: Researchers from the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB), in cooperation with the University of Hamburg, have analysed data ...
Street art murals make biodiversity visible
Museum of Nature Hamburg Museum Koenig Bonn Press release
04 September 2025
Two juniper thrushes are beautifully enthroned high up on a building façade for everyone to see - in the centre of Hamburg-Eimsbüttel. The street art duo Anna Taut & Pascal "KKade" Flühmann spent over a week working on the large-format mural...
New handout for schools on handling human remains in their collections
Museum of Nature Hamburg Press release Knowledge transfer
20 August 2025
The handling of human remains in school biology collections is a sensitive topic - around 40 per cent of secondary schools in Hamburg have such human remains. A new handout now offers guidance for teachers...
Connect, Conserve, Restore: How Research Is Protecting Coral Reefs – and Our Future
Research Museum of Nature Hamburg Press release Knowledge transfer
28 July 2025
July 28 marks World Nature Conservation Day – a moment to focus on especially vulnerable habitats, such as coral reefs. These biodiverse ecosystems are not only fascinating but also vital indicators of environmental health.
What Dinosaur Teeth Reveal About Life 150 Million Years Ago
Research Museum of Nature Hamburg Press release Knowledge transfer
18 July 2025
What did long-necked dinosaurs eat – and where did they roam to satisfy their hunger? A team of researchers has reconstructed the feeding behaviour of sauropods using cutting-edge dental wear analysis. Their findings, published...
Warming seas scare away female angel sharks - with potentially dramatic consequences
Research Museum Koenig Bonn Press release
17 July 2025
Angel sharks, a shark species threatened with extinction, change their mating behaviour in warmer oceans: If the water temperatures become too high, the females avoid their traditional breeding grounds - and rely on cooling instead.
How "supergenes" in fish help to develop new species
Research Museum Koenig Bonn Press release Knowledge transfer
12 June 2025
One of the big questions in biology is how new species arise and how the incredible diversity of nature comes about. A new paper, which has now been published in the journal "Science" by an international team, provides us with...
Practical programme for Ukrainian biology students
Press release Knowledge transfer
12 May 2025
It was an event with a vision for the future, a course that was more than just a learning unit for students from Ukraine. As co-initiator, the LIB supported a practical programme for Ukrainian biology students from Kharkiv.
Digitising museums faster with a smartphone
Research Museum of Nature Hamburg Museum Koenig Bonn Press release Collection
27 March 2025
A team from the LIB has published tutorials that can be used to quickly and cost-effectively read out collection data from natural history museums using a smartphone.
LIB establishes Centre for biodiversity research in Ecuador
Research Press release
18 February 2025
The Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change is working with the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (PUCE) in Quito to establish a scientific center for biodiversity research in Ecuador.
Pesticides have greater impacts on animals, plants, and microorganisms than previously thought
Research Press release
13 February 2025
Pesticides are used primarily in agriculture to control pests. However, they can also harm many beneficial animal, plant and fungal species.
Insight and exchange: New rooms and exhibition opened at the Museum der Natur Hamburg
Museum of Nature Hamburg Press release
12 February 2025
Since 12 February, two newly designed rooms in the zoological exhibition at the Museum der Natur Hamburg have been inviting visitors to linger, marvel, discover and join in.
Museum Koenig Bonn opens special exhibition ‘Meadow habitat’
Museum Koenig Bonn Press release
06 February 2025
The Museum Koenig Bonn is presenting her impressive photographs in the special exhibition ‘Habitat Meadow’, which opens on 19 February.
Quarries, sand and gravel pits as habitats: how the building materials industry can promote biodiversity
Research Press release
29 January 2025
With funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the ‘Holistic Biodiversity Management in the Building Materials Industry’ (GiBBS) project has produced a handbook to help raw materials companies implement species ...
Scientists Resolve “Identity Crisis” for Australia’s Deadliest Spider
Research Press release
13 January 2025
An international team of scientists has revised the classification of Australia’s most famous spider.
Art meets science on insect protection at the ‘UN Campus’ railway station
Press release Knowledge transfer
17 December 2024
Beetles, butterflies and other insects have recently been hanging around the UN Campus railway station in oversized graffiti. What looks beautiful has a larger goal: the graffiti draws attention to the threat posed to insects by light pollution.
Elbtower: option for new natural history museum in Hamburg
Museum of Nature Hamburg Press release
16 December 2024
The discussion about the location for the new natural history museum in Hamburg is gathering pace. As confirmed by the Senate of the City of Hamburg, proposals for housing the ‘Evolutioneum’ in the new building on the Elbe bridges are being ...
Decoding the world’s largest animal genome
Research Press release
14 August 2024
Thirty times the size of the human genome: An international team of researchers led by Konstanz evolutionary biologist Axel Meyer and Würzburg biochemist Manfred Schartl, including researchers from the LIB has sequenced the largest genome of all ...
Science meets street art
Museum of Nature Hamburg Museum Koenig Bonn Press release Knowledge transfer
09 July 2024
InUrFaCE (Initiative of Urban Facades Creature Exposition) aims to create facade artworks on biodiversity that "jump out at you". Internationally renowned street artists create the so-called murals together with
Painted democracy: 75 years of the Basic Law in pictures by Markus Lüpertz
Museum Koenig Bonn Press release Knowledge transfer
03 May 2024
To mark the 75th anniversary, the Museum Koenig Bonn is showing the exhibition "Painted Democracy - 75 Years of the Basic Law in Paintings by Markus Lüpertz."
Unique "Elmshorn" meteorite now on display at the Museum der Natur Hamburg
Museum of Nature Hamburg Press release Collection
25 April 2024
It is a meteorite of superlatives that fell from the sky in Elmshorn near Hamburg on 25 April 2023: from a scientific and cultural-historical point of view, it represents a globally unique piece. At 3.7 kilograms, it is also the largest in
What medicine can learn from ants...
Research Press release
05 April 2024
Mixing livestock farming and arable farming, integrating flower strips and trees, water and soil conservation and much more: diverse agriculture not only benefits nature, but also secures the food base and the agricultural sector for us humans.
FOGS database against illegal wildlife trade launched
Research Press release Knowledge transfer
22 February 2024
The global illegal wildlife trade threatens around 6,000 protected species and their populations. With the FOGS reference database and new analytical methods, the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) supports authorities and species conservation organisations in their efforts to combat this ...
Biomorphic worlds: Where art and science merge
Museum Koenig Bonn Press release Knowledge transfer
09 January 2024
Exciting and flowing at the same time, close to nature and abstract: Bielefeld artist Henning Bock interprets specimens from the mammal collection at Museum Koenig Bonn, combining art and science. From 25 January to 3 March 20
Foundation stone laid for multinational research centre in the Caucasus
Research Press release
26 October 2023
The freely accessible database is up and running, the laboratory infrastructure is functioning. The Caucasus Barcode of Life (CaBOL) cooperation project has laid the foundations for a multinational research centre in the Caucasus. However, it is still unclear how the ...
Solve puzzles from the world of pollinators in our new escape game
Museum Koenig Bonn Press release Knowledge transfer
25 October 2023
Make an entire city liveable again for insects: Players can now immerse themselves in the fascinating and colourful world of "PROJECT POLLINATION: A BUZZING RESCUE". The educational escape game raises awareness in a playful way.
Expedition Schneeleo" exhibition now at the Museum der Natur Hamburg
Museum of Nature Hamburg Press release Knowledge transfer
11 October 2023
Look a snow leopard in the eye, guess its voice, catch prey on a monitor: NABU's "Expedition Snow Leopard" exhibition follows the endangered "spirit of the mountains" with a mixture of analogue and digital hands-on activities.
"It's not the weather - we humans are causing insect mortality"
Research Press release
28 September 2023
Can the weather really be the main cause of insect mortality? A recent STUDY in the scientific journal Nature blames (changing) weather conditions for the sharp decline in insects. Christoph Scherber, Deputy Director
Highlights of nature photography 2023
Museum Koenig Bonn Press release Knowledge transfer
12 September 2023
The "Highlights of Nature Photography" were sought for the 25th time.
Mixed crop cultivation offers insect protection without loss of yield
Research Press release
04 September 2023
How can we stop the drastic decline in biodiversity? A recent STUDY led by the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) shows possible solutions for agricultural landscapes. The investigations prove
75 years of the Parliamentary Council: Ceremony at Museum Koenig Bonn
Museum Koenig Bonn Press release
01 September 2023
75 years ago, Museum Koenig Bonn wrote a piece of German democratic and parliamentary history. On 1 September 1948, the Parliamentary Council met here in the atrium for its constituent session. Today, the German Bundestag is celebrating this
Global database links collections from the world's 73 largest natural history museums
Research Press release Collection
24 March 2023
The LIB's scientific collections, with their 16 million objects, are now part of a global database of the world's largest natural history museums. The digital catalogue links more than one billion objects from scientific collections of
Non-native land snail species are increasing exponentially
Research Press release
19 January 2023
Invasive land snail species can displace native species and harm human health. A recent study by the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) provides an overview of the exponential increase and dy
New home for natural history in Hamburg
Museum of Nature Hamburg Press release
29 November 2022
The new building of the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) will be built on construction site 51 in HafenCity. The LEUCHTTURMPROJEKT for the world of science and museums will offer innovative exhibitions as well as space for research and ...
Pan-European genome research to save biodiversity worldwide
Research Press release
28 September 2022
Experts from all over Europe are joining forces today to launch the pan-European consortium "Biodiversity Genomics Europe (BGE)". The comprehensive application of genomics to the study of biodiversity will revolutionise science.
Reporting portal for alien species extended to northern Germany
Research Press release Collection
28 July 2022
Hamburg's portal for reporting non-native animal species is now available for the whole of northern Germany. On NEOBIOTA-NORD.DE, citizens can now compare and report species that were previously not native to northern Germany. With the Eng
One year of LIB: researching and acting together
Press release
23 June 2022
Joining forces to preserve nature and shape the future: The Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) began its work a year ago with this goal against the backdrop of an increasing biodiversity crisis.
Berlin Declaration: For the future of humanity
Research Museum of Nature Hamburg Museum Koenig Bonn Press release Collection
20 May 2022
Thirty years after the first World Summit on Nature in Rio de Janeiro, the loss of biodiversity and global climate change are the greatest and most pressing challenges of the future. Nothing less than our very existence is at stake. U
"Multifaceted insects": Travelling exhibition opens in Hamburg
Museum of Nature Hamburg Press release Knowledge transfer
23 March 2022
Dazzlingly beautiful, successful, useful - and endangered. Although insects do a great deal for us humans, we are responsible for their decline. From today, 23 March 2022, the travelling exhibition "Multifaceted insects: Diversity I G

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