Boldness – a personality trait that is modified through perceived predation risk in the fathead minnow Pimephales promelas

Boldness is a personality trait of animals that is widespread across many different species. The boldness-shyness continuum represents a fundamental axis of behavioral variation and has been in the center of attention of behavioral ecologists. When relating boldness to a predation context, differences in boldness between individuals can lead to a range of responses from […]

The location of alarm cues in Pelvicachromis taeniatus

When a fish is injured by a predator, its injuries release a cue that is recognized and avoided by conspecifics. This phenomenon was first observed by Karl von Frisch in 1938. In exploratory research, he cut the fish’s skin with a knife and found that other fish avoided the injured individual. Then, he also tested […]

The variation of morphological plasticity across development and between sexes

Organisms can adapt their body to their environment within a single generation. This ability is called morphological plasticity (from old greek morphé „shape“ and lógos „study“ = „study of shape“). Examples for this ability in humans would be muscle development after exercise or getting a tan after sunbathing (melanin production). Scientists have long assumed that […]

Group living in animals – cooperation and conflict

Children are standing in front of the monkey enclosure at the zoo and watch a group of monkeys sitting together. They yell “How cute!”. Animals living together are not only cute to look at but group-living can also be beneficial. Animals that live in groups can better protect themselves from danger, find food together and […]

Relaunch of the website

As the last version of this website was coded in 2007, it was necessary to update the backend to modern standards. This substantially increased security and the comfortability of the user interface. The website is now ready to be enjoyed not only on desktop and laptop computers of different screen resolutions but also on smartphones […]

About me

Welcome to my website. At age 5 I first spoke of wanting to become an “plant and animal researcher”. Hence, I put a lot of effort in pursuing that interest, leading to my current career as an active researcher in the field of evolutionary ecology. My current research focuses on the reasons for variation in […]

Legal Disclosure

The following information (Impressum) is required under § 5 TMG of the German law. Responsible for the content after § 55 Abs. 2 RStV: Dr. rer. nat. Denis Meuthen Ringstr. 58 50996 Köln E-Mail: dmeuthen@evolution.uni-bonn.de Online Dispute Resolution website of the EU Commission In order for consumers and traders to resolve a dispute out-of-court, the […]