Who needs IMMORTALITY, when there is FREEDOM?

If we look at the kingdoms of multicellular eukaryotic organisms on Earth, we find two that share fundamental similarities, and one whose creatures have forged new paths. Plants and fungi have produced only sessile organisms or those carried along by external forces, such as winds and currents. Their modular structure enables them to constantly renew themselves. This is a life based on the building-block principle, in which an organism can lose large parts of its body without perishing. Consider, for example, a felled tree that sprouts anew. Animal life is quite different: most of its representatives carry their existence. Locomotion, or the ability to move actively, has apparently been crucial in the history of life, as the animal kingdom has produced the most complex living beings and the greatest biodiversity by far. However, a body adapted for mobility is more vulnerable, its lifespan shorter. Metaphorically speaking, animals traded potential immortality for freedom at an evolutionary level.

Mobility is of central importance to life on Earth today. Countless species rely on migratory movements as part of their life cycles. This also makes them vulnerable on an individual level. During their travels, they face many dangers, and their survival depends not only on the condition of a single patch of land, but on the state of many locations, some of which are widely scattered. In a world dominated by humans, where landscapes have been transformed and rivers fragmented by barriers, it is precisely these species that are at greatest risk: one in five migratory species is on the brink of extinction. The eel genus, for example, has existed for over 50 million years. It took science almost 2,000 years to discover where the eels in our waters come from. Now, we have far less time to save them. This makes it all the more important that we investigate the complex interplay between movement and biodiversity, from the individual to the ecosystem level. IGB is dedicated to this topic, drawing on many disciplines. 

The leap to mobility was an evolutionary gamble that resulted in a species-rich, vibrant world. Our research into movement can help us identify cycles, understand interdependencies, and develop sustainable solutions to ensure the preservation of this diversity – and ultimately, the foundation of our own existence

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