Senckenberg Society for Natural Research

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The non-profit Senckenberg Society for Natural Research (SGN) conducts research in the bio and geosciences . Her main research interests are in the areas of biodiversity , evolution and climate change , with the aim of conserving natural resources and protecting biological species . Another concern of the SGN is the communication of science to "non-scientists", for which it operates nature museums in Frankfurt am Main , Dresden and Görlitz .

The Senckenberg Society for Nature Research is the largest member of the Leibniz Association, which is funded by the federal and state governments, and has its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main.

Society

According to the SGN's statutes, its task is to “conduct natural research” and “make research results available to the general public through museums and special exhibitions, through lectures, suitable events and publications.” To fulfill these tasks, the company maintains seven research institutes and three natural museums at ten Locations in Germany. It has a total of over 800 employees, including over 300 scientists (as of November 2016).

The company is a legally competent association according to § 22 BGB. All natural and legal persons as well as companies registered by the commercial court can become members for an annual fee. The more than 7,500 members (as of November 2016) elect the board of directors at the annual general meeting. It is made up of members, donors from the federal and state governments and representatives of the city of Frankfurt am Main. The council, in turn, appoints the board of directors as the operative management body and the honorary president of the society. Volker Mosbrugger has been the company's director since 2005, and Beate Heraeus has been its president since 2012.

The society is the largest member of the Leibniz Association and as such receives joint research funding from the federal and state governments. In the Leibniz Association for Biodiversity, she works with other Leibniz institutions that also conduct nature research.

research

Scientists on the Senckenberg research cutter in the North Sea Photo: Senckenberg
Scientists on the Senckenberg research cutter in the North Sea

The central research area of ​​the SGN is the diversity of life, the biodiversity. It also examines how it relates and interacts with the other geoscientific subsystems of the earth - atmosphere, water, ice, soil and rocks. Senckenberg himself uses the term “geobiodiversity research” for this integrative research approach. The past and present are examined and future developments are modeled. The aim of the research is a comprehensive understanding of life on earth in order to be able to protect and preserve it effectively. Research at Senckenberg is divided into four areas that are processed across locations:

  • Biodiversity and systematics: Research into organisms and their evolution, e.g. B. the description of new species and the expansion of scientific collections
Example: In the Senckenberg competence center for dinoflagellates , the unicellular organisms that are central to aquatic food webs are taxonomically described, researched and the existing knowledge is made available on the Internet.
  • Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health: Investigations of habitats on earth with research foci e.g. B. in nature conservation research or in the evaluation of long-term measurement series
Example: At the Senckenberg Natural History Museum in Görlitz, the role of soil organisms in the development of substrate from open-cast mines into fertile humus is being investigated.
  • Biodiversity and Climate: Analysis of the connections between changes in biodiversity and changes in climate
Example: The Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center researches the spread and control of dengue fever and malaria . The number of infections transmitted by mosquito bites is increasing due to climate change, including in Europe
  • Biodiversity and Earth System Dynamics: Investigation of geological processes and their role in changing the biosphere
Example: Senckenberg scientists are researching how the formation of the Himalayan mountains influenced the evolution of the organisms there and their habitats and made the region particularly rich in species.

Senckenberg operates seven research institutes at ten locations in Germany, which work on the above four research areas, each with a different focus:

Institute Locations Research priorities
Senckenberg Research Institute , Frankfurt am Main
Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center (BiK-F) Frankfurt Biodiversity and Climate Change
Senckenberg by the sea Wilhelmshaven

Hamburg

Marine research

German Center for Marine Biodiversity Research (DZMB)

Senckenberg Natural History Collections , Dresden Dresden
  • Terrestrial biodiversity
  • mineralogy
  • Petrography Geochronology
  • paleontology
Senckenberg Museum of Natural History

Goerlitz

Goerlitz
  • Soil zoology
  • botany
  • terrestrial zoology geology
  • Attachment theory
Senckenberg German Entomological Institute Müncheberg Müncheberg entomology
Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment Tübingen
  • Older prehistory
  • Quaternary Ecology
  • Paleoanthropology
  • Terrestrial paleoclimatology

Collections

Collections of the Senckenberg Society Photo Senckenberg
The natural history collections of the Senckenberg Society for Natural Research comprise over 38 million series.

The Senckenberg research collections comprise over 38 million series of fossil and recent plants, animals and rocks, making them one of the most extensive collections in the world. The Senckenberg Natural History Collections in Dresden, which have their origins in the 16th century, are the oldest natural science collections in the world. In addition to the institutes of the SGN, hundreds of guest scientists also access these collections every year. For better availability of the collection data, they are digitized and made available decentrally at the various locations.

Museums

Dinosaur skeletons in the Senckenberg Naturmuseum Frankfurt Photo: Senckenberg
Dinosaur skeletons in the Senckenberg Nature Museum in Frankfurt am Main

The SGN operates three nature museums in Frankfurt am Main, Dresden and Görlitz. It has an official educational mandate from the International Council of Museums ICOM.

With a total area of ​​6000 square meters and several thousand exhibits, the Senckenberg Nature Museum in Frankfurt am Main is one of the largest natural history museums in Europe. More than 300,000 visitors from different countries and age groups visit it annually (as of October 2016). In addition to a permanent exhibition on biodiversity, evolution and earth development, special exhibitions on changing topics are shown. The Senckenberg Natural History Museum in Görlitz and the Senckenberg exhibition rooms in the Japanese Palace in Dresden are visited by around 100,000 guests every year (as of October 2016). While in Görlitz there is also a permanent exhibition with changing special exhibitions, only changing exhibitions are shown in Dresden.

In addition to the exhibits and classic information boards, the museums also use technical aids such as computer terminals , documentary film cinemas and audio guides.2 In all three buildings, educational concepts in the museum also contribute to imparting knowledge. Museum education offers guided tours and events on various topics and for different target groups.

A renovation and new building is planned for the Senckenberg Naturmuseum Frankfurt starting in 2020. In addition to the enlargement of the museum's area from around 6,000 to 10,000 square meters, the content of the exhibition will be completely redesigned. The renovation costs are calculated at 56 million euros, which are raised as donations.

Teaching

In addition to natural research and its communication, another task of the society is the training of the next generation of scientists and museum technicians. Collection technicians are trained at the Senckenberg School. Since 2015, the company has also been offering the Master’s degree in Biodiversity and Collection Management together with the Technical University of Dresden , with which it is part of the DRESDEN-concept science association , and the Zittau International University Institute . In addition, the company is involved in teaching 19 German and 7 foreign universities, mainly in bio- and geoscientific subjects (survey period summer semester 2014 - winter semester 2015/2016). The SGN also has 25 cooperation professorships with various German universities.

Publications

The in-house publishing house of the SGN mainly publishes scientific journals, monographs and bibliographies . The journals include Archiv für Molluskenkunde, Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny, Contributions to Entomology, Marine Biodiversity, Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, Peckiana, Soil Organisms, Studia dipterologica and Vertebrate Zoology. Four series of publications tend to focus on popular science, including the bimonthly membership magazine “Nature · Research · Museum”, the Kleine Senckenberg series, Senckenberg books and museum educational materials. There are also annual reports of the SGN and other publications in which Senckenberg is co-editor or editorially involved.

Awards and honors

The SGN awards various prizes and honors that honor scientific achievements, committed work in research or society, or particularly generous donations.

Since 2014 it has awarded the Senckenberg Prize in the categories of nature research and nature engagement, both of which are endowed with 10,000 euros. The Senckenberg Prize for Nature Research honors researchers “who have achieved excellent, internationally visible achievements in nature research”. Previous winners are C. Page Chamberlain (2014), Georgina Mace (2015) and Craig R. Smith (2017). The Senckenberg Prize for Commitment to Nature is awarded for “outstanding private commitment to the preservation of nature, nature education and the sustainable use of natural resources”. Previous winners are Reinhold Messner (2014), Alexander Gerst (2015) and Rae Garvey (2017). The Senckenberg Prizes are awarded at the annual Senckenberg Night, a benefit event for society's sponsors.

The Alexander von Humboldt Memorial Prize has been awarded since 1992. The award is given to the best scientific article in a Senckenberg publication. The prize is awarded annually and is endowed with EUR 6,000.

history

Bronze bust of the namesake Johann Christian Senckenberg in the entrance area of ​​the Frankfurt main building of the SGN
Bronze bust of the namesake Johann Christian Senckenberg in the entrance area of ​​the Frankfurt main building of the SGN

The SGN was founded on November 22nd, 1817 as Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft in Frankfurt am Main. Its namesake, Johann Christian Senckenberg, was a Frankfurt doctor and naturalist. His foundation, the Dr. Senckenberg Foundation, is institutionally independent of the SGN. It was founded by citizens of the city of Frankfurt and at the suggestion of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in order to continue Senckenberg's legacy.

Atrium in the Senckenberg Naturmuseum Frankfurt after a bomb strike in March 1944
Atrium in the Senckenberg Naturmuseum Frankfurt after a bomb strike in March 1944

From 1821 the society presented its natural history collection in the public natural history cabinet at the Eschenheimer Turm . The museum building at Bockenheimer Warte has been in use since 1907 and was built according to plans by the architect Ludwig Neher. With the move from the Eschenheim Tower, the museum and the exhibition collection were separated from the research institute and research collection for the first time. On January 6, 1912, Alfred Wegener presented his theory of plate tectonics to the public for the first time at the general meeting of the Geological Association in Frankfurt's Senckenberg Museum. In 1914, the SGN was one of the founders of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University and provided the premises and staff. In 1928, with the founding of Senckenberg am Meer by Rudolf Richter, the basis for marine research was created near Senckenberg.

During the Second World War , Senckenberg's research almost came to a standstill. However, it was possible to outsource the scientific collections in Frankfurt to other locations. Arthur von Weinberg , Senckenberg Honorary President, died in 1943 in the Theresienstadt concentration camp . In the great attack on Frankfurt on March 22, 1944, the almost empty Senckenberg building was badly damaged; by 1952 the research institute and museum had been rebuilt.

After the Second World War

On March 4, 1954, Senckenberg was included in the joint federal and state research funding from which the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Science Association was later formed. V. developed. At the same time, the research society began to become more professional: academic employees with a doctorate largely replaced the volunteer sections. In the sixties, the exhibitions that had been lexically structured up to that point were modernized.

In the 1970s, environmental research developed into a new focus at Senckenberg. The branch office for low mountain range research in the Spessart , the Lochmühle in Bieber, set up in 1969 , moved to Gelnhausen in 2006. Also in the 1970s, Senckenberg began to dig in the Messel fossil site and discovered the primeval horse there, among other things. After protests, the Hessian state government bought the site in 1991, preventing it from being filled with rubbish. In 1992 she made the Senckenberg mine available for scientific supervision. As a result, a Messel research department was set up with a branch at the mine. In 1995, UNESCO declared the mine a World Heritage Site.

Enlargement through fusion

After reunification , Senckenberg expanded through various mergers. In 1998 the taxonomic working group of the Biological Research Institute Helgoland was integrated and in 2000 the German Center for Marine Biodiversity (DZMB) was set up in Wilhelmshaven and Hamburg . Also in 2000 the Institute for Quaternary Paleontology in Weimar Senckenberg joined. In 2008 the LOEWE Biodiversity and Climate Research Center (BiK-F) was established in Frankfurt with the participation of Senckenberg, which became the second Frankfurt institute of the society in 2015. In 2009 Senckenberg merged with the Museum für Naturkunde in Görlitz , the Natural History Collections Dresden and the German Entomological Institute in Müncheberg . At the same time, a new internal structure was developed under General Director Volker Mosbrugger. Since then, the four research areas mentioned above have been processed across locations. In 2017, the Tübingen project Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment became the seventh Senckenberg Institute.

In 2008 the Senckenberg Natural Research Society was renamed the Senckenberg Society for Natural Research.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b SENCKENBERG world of biodiversity | Senckenberg Society | Organization | Statute. Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
  2. ↑ SENCKENBERG world of biodiversity | Imprint and data protection. Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
  3. ↑ SENCKENBERG world of biodiversity | Senckenberg Society .. | Organization. Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
  4. ^ Leibniz Association: Institutes & Museums / SGN. Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
  5. ↑ Leibniz Association for Biodiversity: Start. Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
  6. ↑ SENCKENBERG world of biodiversity | Senckenberg Research | Institutes. Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
  7. ↑ SENCKENBERG world of biodiversity | Senckenberg Research | Institute | Senckenberg Museum for N .. | Soil zoology. Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
  8. ↑ SENCKENBERG world of biodiversity | Senckenberg Research | Locations. Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
  9. ↑ SENCKENBERG world of biodiversity | Collections. Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
  10. ↑ SENCKENBERG world of biodiversity | Museums. Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
  11. ↑ SENCKENBERG world of biodiversity | Museums | Frankfurt Natural History Museum | Museum. Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
  12. ↑ SENCKENBERG world of biodiversity | Museums | Frankfurt Natural History Museum | Museum education. Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
  13. ↑ The world is building your museum. Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
  14. ↑ SENCKENBERG world of biodiversity | Senckenberg Society .. | Teaching. Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
  15. ↑ Publication of the membership of the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research at DRESDEN-concept. Retrieved February 15, 2019 .
  16. ↑ a b Master's degree "Biodiversity and Collection Management" (M.Sc.). Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
  17. ↑ a b SENCKENBERG world of biodiversity | Senckenberg Society .. | Awards & Honors | Senckenberg Prize. Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
  18. ↑ SENCKENBERG NIGHT - THE BLUE PLANET. Retrieved July 24, 2017 .
  19. ↑ Alexander von Humboldt Memorial Prize. Retrieved on July 19, 2020 (German).
  20. ↑ Biography Alfred Wegener - AWI. In: https://www.awi.de/ . Helmholzzentrum für Meereskunde, 2020, accessed on July 19, 2020 .
  21. ↑ a b c Senckenberg Society for Nature Research: SENCKENBERG world of biodiversity | Senckenberg Society .. | History. Retrieved July 24, 2017 .