Ornithology, behavioral ecology, conservation biology, statistics


For many years, the main focus of our research was on song, behaviour and migration of Nightingales (Luscinia megarhynchos) in the nature reserve Petite Camargue Alsacienne just north of Basel, where students can live and work at the research station. More recently, we started investigating the effects of natural grazing by Konik horses and Highland cattle. Other current projects involve different species of songbirds in the Swiss National Park, in the Val Piora (Ticino) and on the Furka Pass.

We are also contributing to analyzing large ecological data sets from monitoring programs such as the Biodiversity Monitoring Switzerland. Often, our students work on projects offered by our colleagues at the Swiss Ornithological Institute (Vogelwarte Sempach) or at the environmental consulting company Hintermann & Weber AG. An integral part of our research, and of science in general, is thinking about statistical inference, communication, and reproducibility.

For more information about our research, please visit the other pages of this website, for example Team and Publications.
If you are interested in possible Master or PhD projects, please contact Prof. Valentin Amrhein; you may also check www.vogelwarte.ch/de/vogelwarte/mitarbeit/thesis.