Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversitätswandels (LIB)

The Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) is dedicated to researching biological diversity and its changes, the results of which are disseminated to society at large in an informative way. In order to better understand the current mass extinction of flora and fauna, scientists are looking for correlations and causes of - often - man-made changes. The aim is to develop solutions for the preservation of ecosystems and species in order to maintain the basis of current life. The LIB is one of the eight major research museums of the Leibniz Association. It is made up of the Mueum Koenig Bonn (formerly the Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig - Leibniz Institute for Animal Biodiversity) and the Museum der Natur Hamburg (formerly the Center for Natural History at the University of Hamburg), which were merged into the LIB on July 1, 2021 following a decision by the Joint Science Conference (GWK). The LIB comprises more than 16 million collection objects, primarily from the field of zoology, but also from geology, palaeontology and mineralogy. Using state-of-the-art technologies, researchers are investigating the changes in biodiversity on the basis of this valuable, historical object database in order to answer relevant questions for our society in the future. The objects in the collection enable them to describe changes, some of which are man-made, and to model future development scenarios. As an integrated research museum, the LIB promotes innovative research. Documentation, indexing and the expansion of the collections are important goals of this research infrastructure.