2025
January 2025
We are thrilled to announce that In the second week of january, Dr. Miguel Camacho Sanchez has joined our group as a postdoc.
Miguel is an evolutionary and conservation biologist specializing in genetics and genomics to study wildlife populations of mammals, and the diversification and distribution of mammal species.
Miguel will be contributing his expertise to the ongoing project on the phylogeography of Sulawesi tarsiers, utilizing genome-wide data to uncover new insights into their evolutionary history.
2024
October 2024
We have two new bachelor students in our team.
We are delighted to welcome Hannah Heidelmeyer and Nora Berthold.
Hannah will be collaborating with Laura and Tom on investigating the population structure and demography of Sulawesi tarsiers, while Nora’s thesis will focus on analyzing parasitic DNA extracted from fecal samples of western lowland gorillas in Gabon, examining differences between various gorilla social groups.
Additionally, Laura is part of the jury of a drawing competition for children aged 5-10 years.
The task is to draw a picture of the mountain gorilla Mukiza and you.
Mukiza is the star of the recently published children's book that tells the true story of the Bwindi mountain gorilla Mukiza.
Further information: https://www.calmemaraverlag.de/derverlag/malwettbewerb
September 2024
In September Laura visited the American Museum of Natural History in New York to sample six tarsier specimens that are around 100 years old.
These have the potential to vastly improve our understanding of the diversification of tarsiers on Sulawesi.
We are very excited to start the project.
Picture on the left: Laura on the steps of the American Museum of Natural History, © Laura Hagemann
Picture on the right: One of the sampled tarsier specimens, © Laura Hagemann
August 2024
At the end of August, Laura and Tom visited Lausanne, Switzerland to attend the 6th European Conference on Conservation Genetics.
Along with the exciting conversations about integrating genetic analyses into the conservation of wild species, our work on tarsier phylogenetics and biogeographic history was presented by Tom at the poster session.
Link to the conference webpage: https://eu.eventscloud.com/website/13263/home/
Small Picture: Tom at the poster session, © Laura Hagemann
Big Picture: Conference attendees on the steps of the Palais de Rumine, © Laura Hagemann
July 2024
Laura was invited to be the keynote speaker at the bachelor's graduation ceremony for biology at the University of Cologne.
Just before the hat toss, she gave a talk titled "Von Kobolden und Riesen - Einblicke in die Primatengenetik". Congratulations to all graduates!
Picture: Prof. Niefind hands over a bouquet after the presentation. Many thanks for the flowers, © Patric Fouad
June 2024
On June 15th and 16th, 2024, the general meeting of the non-profit association Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkthilfe e.V. (B&RD) took place at the Darwineum of the Rostock Zoo.
We celebrated B&RD's 40th anniversary with a varied program of project reports, external lectures and presentations on the history of the association.
You can find further information at: https://www.berggorilla.org/
Picture: Members and friends of Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkthilfe e.V. in Rostock, © Manfred Hartwig
January 2024
With the new year our team is growing. We are happy to welcome our new Postdoc Thomas Morgan.
Thomas has worked on the genetic relationships of freshwater fishes that result from changing hydrology over geologic time. Most recently, his Ph.D. work at the University of Michigan focused on the rivers of the Guiana Shield, and the species relationships that were shaped by the rising Andean Mountains and the formation of the modern Amazon River.
In the Anthropology lab, Thomas will be involved in projects on the demography and biogeography of Sulawesi tarsiers, investigating questions of how their species ranges are shaped by inter-species contact zones as well as past geological processes.
Picture: © Thomas Morgan
2023
December 2023
The 3rd Council Meeting for the Great Apes Survival Partnership will be held from December 11th - 14th, 2023 in Paris. Stay tuned to hear about the outcome.
