Many animals are known for their spectacular navigation abilities, which, for instance, enable them to migrate thousands of kilometers across the globe to reach a specific location at the end of their journey. This astonishing ability is controlled by a complex neural network in the brain of these animals, which continuously makes robust navigational decisions based on a multitude of sensory signals. How the brain integrates these sensory signals and how it makes decisions based on them to generate robust navigational behavior is still largely unclear and is the central question of the Navigation Biology research group.

To gain an understanding of the fundamental principles of animal navigation, the Navigation Biology group investigates the behavioral and neural mechanisms of spatial orientation and navigation in animals. In this context, insects are remarkable model organisms. Although the are equipped with a brain smaller than a grain of rice, insects exhibit highly complex navigational abilities, such as migration over enormous distances. An outstanding example of a migratory insect is the North American Monarch butterfly, an insect studied by the Navigation Biology group. This butterfly migrates annually from North America to central Mexico, covering a distance of more than 3,500 km. To understand the behavioral, sensory, and neural basis of how these butterflies can travel such enormous distances, the Navigation Biology group uses a wide range of methods, ranging from behavioral studies in the field and in the laboratory, to neuroanatomical techniques (immunohistochemistry, imaging, 3D modelling), to electrophysiological approaches (intracellular recordings of single neurons, extracellular recordings using tetrodes) in actively navigating animals.