Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior

For animals, too, life means making permanent decisions. Does a blackbird fly south in autumn? And if so, why does it depart on a certain day to a certain place? Or does it resign from the dangerous journey altogether? On which tree does the Kinkajou search for food? Does a group of baboons stay at its current feeding place or does it move on? Decisions of this kind determine an individual’s survival and their probability of having offspring - and often these decisions are made in a group.

The scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior ask how animals coordinate themselves. What are the consequences of their actions? How are their movements triggered? The scientists aim to achieve a quantitative and predictive understanding of animal decision-making and movement in the natural world. They pursue a holistic approach and integrate physiological, neural, ecological and evolutionary perspectives, questions and methods into their research. In 2019, the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior emerged from the MPI for Ornithology in Radolfzell. The future location of the Institute will be Konstanz.