Our research is funded by intramural funds of the University of Vienna and University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, and by several grants awarded by Austrian and international agencies including the Austrian Academy of Science (OeAW), the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), the European Union, and the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF).  If you wish to contribute to our research, please contact us!

Ongoing projects

• A Multibiomarker Approach to Mercury Effects on Crocodylians
• Do visual illusions influence social decisions in animals?
• EUFLYNET – A European flyway research network for the effective conservation of migrant landbirds
• Evolution of elaborate multicomponent courtship displays
• Integration of social information in the dove brain
• Mating and bonding decisions in a challenging environment
• Measurement of brain responses in birds during naturalistic courtship behaviour
• Perceived Beauty: Attractiveness & Reproductive Fitness
• Social and environmental determinants of successful parents

Completed projects

• An avian model for understanding adaptations and modulatory drivers of avian migration
• Cost and benefits of formation flight in birds
• Comparative aesthetics: A novel approach to investigate multi-modal attractiveness in humans and animals
• Cognition and Communication 2
• Coping with change: The influence of early experience, nutrition and stress on behavioral flexibility
• Neural bases for behavior differences in male ruffs
• Oxidative stress in bird migration
• Spatio-temporal effects of climate change and physiological vulnerability of tropical montane birds in human-dominated landscapes
• Stopover biology: How does ghrelin mediate migratory decisions?
• The hormone ghrelin: Is it a key player in regulating performance, fuel metabolism and decision-making in migratory birds?
• Variation in physiological and behavioral strategies to maximize migratory stopover efficiency at a Saharan oasis
• Water balance as a driver of behavioural strategies of migratory birds during desert crossing