Mirjam Knörnschild

Mirjam Knörnschild is Professor of Evolutionary Ethology at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Head of the Department of Evolutionary Diversity Dynamics at the Museum für Naturkunde (Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Research) in Berlin. She serves as Co-Lead for the Science Programme "Dynamics of Nature" and conducts interdisciplinary research at the intersection of behavioral biology, evolutionary theory, and acoustic communication.

Her research program centers on bioacoustic mechanisms in mammalian communication, with bats as primary model organisms. Key interests include vocal production learning, babbling behavior as evolutionary precursor to language, social decision-making through acoustic signals, and the relationship between social complexity and vocal complexity. Her work integrates neuroethological approaches with ecological field studies to examine how communication systems evolve under selective pressures.

Knörnschild's publication record reveals a consistent focus on vocal learning mechanisms across species, with recent work establishing bats as critical models for understanding human language evolution. Her studies frequently bridge computational biology, sensory ecology, and evolutionary neuroscience, demonstrating how acoustic signals function as both social coordinators and evolutionary drivers in natural populations.

Her scientific contributions have been recognized through major competitive grants:

• ERC Starting Grant CULTSONG (2019-2024) investigating whether song learning accelerates speciation in bat ring species
• Leibniz Competition Best Minds Professorship (2023-2027) establishing her academic position at HU Berlin
• GIF NEXUS Grant (2023-2026) exploring the transition from social signals to active acoustic sensing

As department head and principal investigator, Knörnschild leads research teams examining evolutionary dynamics through bioacoustic lenses. Her current projects involve longitudinal field studies of bat colonies, cross-species comparative analyses, and experimental paradigms testing vocal learning capabilities. The ERC-funded CULTSONG project represents a flagship initiative examining cultural transmission in natural populations, positioning her work at the forefront of evolutionary communication research.