Research Projects

Through the collaboration of the Center of Natural History (CeNak) University of Hamburg and of YXLON International, a 3D reconstruction and visualization of the reproductive system of the viviparous crown snail of the Fiji Islands, Fijidoma maculata (Caenogastropoda, Cerithioidea, Thiaridae) were created using CT scans taken by the high-resolution YXLON FF20 CT inspection system ... [ mehr ]

Vorstellungen von Kraft – verstanden als Ursache, die Veränderung bewirkt – durchziehen im Bereich der Naturwissenschaften keineswegs nur die Physik, sondern haben als Form, Vielfalt und Verbreitung bestimmende Einflussgrößen bzw. Evolutionsfaktoren auch in der Naturkunde allmählich stärkere Kontur gewonnen ... [ mehr ]

Central part of evolutionary research is the question of speciation. A common phenomena in speciation is the so called “adaptive radiation” which leads to adaptations to previously isolated or newly formed habitats – like islands or fresh-water seas – and annidations (formation of new ecological niches). Well-known and often cited is this for Darwin’s finches on Galapagos or cichlids in eastern African fresh-water seas. In contrast adaptive radiation .... [ more]

With an interdisciplinary approach, the project will assess the literary as well as the natural history source materials and analyze the writings and the collections associated with Chamisso’s voyage of discovery. The project thereby intends to (re)discover an author, whose dual professions as poet and naturalist and whose role as a frontier crosser and intermediary between the study of literature and the nature have thus far been seldom acknowledged ... [ more ]

Species distribution and biodiversity patterns are usually considered separately for terrestrial freshwater and marine habitats. Traditionally, in marine species a dispersion-driven distribution is assumed. By contrast, it is common to assume a vicariance driven distribution pattern for freshwater species.  So far, in-depth studies combining and comparing these processes in relation to each other are lacking. The freshwater snails genus Stenomelania ... [ more ]

Poecilogony in snails has often been discussed, though it could only rarely be confirmed. Poecilogony (that is the presence of two distinct reproductive modes within the same animal species) has mainly been found in “ophistobranch” gastropods and polychaets. We set out to evaluate the proposed poecilogony in Planaxis sulctatus anew. Former studies only presented two reproductive modes within this species – an ovoviviparous development  ... [ more ]

Die Andenregion in Südamerika ist einer der bedeutendsten Schwerpunkte der Biodiversität weltweit. Insbesondere bei den Wirbellosen ist die Artenvielfalt jedoch noch unzureichend erforscht. Hier sind noch zahlreiche unbeschriebene Arten zu erwarten. Selbst von den bereits bekannten Arten wissen wir kaum etwas. Daher planen Wissenschaftler des CeNak in einem Pilotprojekt die Land- und Süßwasserschnecken des Naturschutzgebietes Panguana in Peru ... [ mehr ]

Southeast Asia is due to its richness in species one of the “hot spots” of biodiversity. This comprises not only terrestrial and marine organisms but also limnic groups, such as e.g. the Gastropoda among the Mollusca, one of the largest phyla of animals second only to the arthropoda (insects, crustacean etc.). However, following the initial discoveries and the descriptions of new taxa and species found in Southeast Asia since the 19th century and surveys in the course of WHO activities for protection against human diseases ... [ mehr ]

Derzeit rekonstruieren Wissenschaftler des CeNak historische Besiedlungsmuster prominenter Hamburger Gewässer wie Elbe (Süderelbe), Isebek, Tarpenbek und dem Eppendorfer Moor. Als Indikatororganismen werden verschiedene wirbellose Tiergruppen wie Insekten (u.a. Köcherfliegen, Libellen) und Süßwassermollusken herangezogen. Weiterhin erfolgt eine intensive Auswertung historischer Dokumente aus den wissenschaftlichen Archiven des CeNak. [ mehr ]

Auflistung weiterer Drittmitelprojekte von Prof. Dr. Matthias Glaubrecht, die vor 2014 am Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (MfN Berlin) liefen. [ Auflistung ]