LEIBNIZ-INSTITUT ZUR ANALYSE DES BIODIVERSITATSWANDELS

Their core work

The Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) is a German research centre specializing in biodiversity science — from taxonomy and systematics to genomics and evolutionary biology. They maintain and digitize major natural history collections, making them accessible as research infrastructure across Europe. Their scientific work spans amphibian evolution, insect biosystematics, and genome biology, combining classical morphological approaches with modern high-throughput sequencing and comparative genomics. They contribute both as research performers generating original findings and as infrastructure providers enabling broader scientific access to biodiversity data.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2015–2019), LIB focused on broad biodiversity infrastructure — digitising natural history collections (SYNTHESYS PLUS), insect systematics training (BIG4), and applied biodiversity in agriculture (DIVERSify). From 2020 onward, their work shifted decisively toward molecular and genomic approaches: ancient DNA, high-throughput sequencing, comparative genomics, and chromosome biology. This reflects a clear institutional move from descriptive and collection-based biodiversity science toward mechanistic, genome-level understanding of how biodiversity arises and changes.

LIB is investing heavily in genomic technologies and evolutionary questions — future collaborators should expect a partner fluent in both classical natural history and modern sequencing-driven biology.

How they like to work

LIB splits evenly between leading and joining projects (3 coordinator, 3 participant), showing confidence in both roles. Their 74 unique partners across 27 countries indicate they operate in large, international consortia and maintain a broad network rather than relying on a small circle of repeat partners. This makes them an accessible and well-connected partner for new consortium builders — they are experienced at working across institutional cultures and research traditions.

With 74 unique consortium partners spread across 27 countries, LIB has a genuinely pan-European network with likely connections into global biodiversity research communities. Their participation in ESFRI-linked infrastructure projects (DiSSCo/SYNTHESYS) places them at the heart of Europe's natural history collections network.

What sets them apart

LIB occupies a distinctive niche by combining deep expertise in classical taxonomy and natural history collections with advanced genomic and molecular techniques — a combination that few European institutes match at this level. Their ERC Consolidator Grant on germline-restricted chromosomes signals genuine scientific leadership, not just participation. For consortium builders, they offer the rare ability to bridge traditional biodiversity knowledge (museum collections, morphology) with frontier genomics, making them ideal for projects that need both perspectives.

Highlights from their portfolio

• GermlineChrom
  ERC Consolidator Grant worth EUR 1.9M — their largest project by far, signaling recognized scientific excellence in chromosome biology and genome evolution.
• SYNTHESYS PLUS
  Part of the DiSSCo ESFRI roadmap infrastructure, connecting LIB to Europe's largest network of natural history collections and their digitisation.
• MEGAN
  Their most recent project (2022), focusing on mega-evolutionary dynamics of frogs — confirms their sustained commitment to amphibian evolutionary biology.