Deutsch
  • Honeybees (partly marked) on the edge of a brood frame
Chair of Behavioral Physiology & Sociobiology

Rössler, Wolfgang

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Rössler

Head
Zoology II / Rössler lab
Universität Würzburg
Biozentrum
Am Hubland
97074 Würzburg
Building: B1 (Biozentrum)
Room: D117
Phone: +49 931 31-84306
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5195-8214
Link: Rössler lab
Portrait of Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Rössler

My research focuses on the neuroethology of social insects, in particular mechanisms underlying communication, orientation and behavioral plasticity and their consequences for social organization. Main aspects of my research are the function and evolution of olfactory systems, multisensory navigation and neuronal mechanisms of behavioral plasticity associated with polyethism and division of labor. Projects employ modern experimental techniques in functional and molecular neuroanatomy (confocal 3D imaging, immunolabeling and – blotting), neurophysiology (in-situ electrophysiology and calcium imaging), as well as quantitative behavioral assays (choice behavior, learning and memory, environmental influences). The integrative perspective on the behavior of social insects represented at the department of Behavioral Physiology & Sociobiology combines neurobiology, behavioral ecology, sociobiology and evolutionary biology.

Current research projects are:

  • Function, organization and evolution of olfactory systems
  • Developmental and adult plasticity of olfactory and visual brain centers and social organization
  • Structural and functional plasticity of neuronal microcircuits in memory centers
  • Neuronal basis of orientation and navigation

  • Cataglyphis ants have a polarity-sensitive magnetic compass.. Grob, Robin; Wegmann, Johanna W.; Rössler, Wolfgang; Fleischmann, Pauline N. In Current Biology, 34, pp. 1–6. 2024.
  • Importance of magnetic information for neuronal plasticity in desert ants. Grob, Robin; Müller, Valentin L.; Grübel, Kornelia; Rössler, Wolfgang; Fleischmann, Pauline N. In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(8), p. e2320764121. 2024.
  • The Geomagnetic Field Is a Compass Cue in Cataglyphis Ant Navigation. Fleischmann, Pauline Nikola*; Grob, Robin*; Müller, Valentin Leander; Wehner, Rüdiger; Rössler, Wolfgang. In Current Biology, 28, pp. 1440–1444. 2018.
  • Parallel Processing via a Dual Olfactory Pathway in the Honeybee. Brill, Martin F.; Rosenbaum, Tobias; Reus, Isabelle; Kleineidam, Christoph J.; Nawrot, Martin P.; Rössler, Wolfgang. In Journal of Neuroscience, 33(6), pp. 2443–2456. Society for Neuroscience, 2013.
  • Synaptic organization in the adult honey bee brain is influenced by brood-temperature control during pupal development. Groh, Claudia; Tautz, Jürgen; Rössler, Wolfgang. In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101(12), pp. 4268–4273. 2004.

Bachelor

Tierphysiologie, Verhaltensphysiologie, Integrative Verhaltensbiologie I, Integrative Verhaltensbiologie II, Integrative Verhaltensbiologie III

Master

Lecture series, Communication Biology, Experimental Biology, Behavioural Physiology and Sociobiology F1, Behavioural Physiology F2, Master Program "Fokus Life Science"