Timo Thuenken

Priv. Doz. Dr. Timo Thünken is a Senior Lecturer at the Bonn Institute for Organismic Biology, University of Bonn, Germany. His research focuses on evolutionary behavioral ecology, particularly the experimental investigation of selection processes such as natural, sexual, and kin selection that drive or maintain intraspecific diversity. He teaches courses including Experimental Behavioral Ecology, Behavioral Ecology Theory, and Genomics of Behavior while supervising advanced modules and theses.

• Education:
  • Diploma Study of Biology, University of Bonn (1995–2002)
  • PhD in Biology, University of Bonn (2003–2008)

Research interests span inbreeding avoidance/tolerance/preference, kin-biased behavior, predator-induced phenotypic plasticity, and reproductive strategies in cichlid fish. His work integrates ecological and genetic approaches to understand how environmental variation influences behavioral, morphological, and cognitive traits, with a focus on adaptive mechanisms.

Recent publications highlight trends in inbreeding effects across biological scales, sex-specific trait responses to environmental variation, and selfing in vertebrates. These studies emphasize cichlid fishes as models for exploring selection dynamics and behavioral flexibility.

Projects include DFG-funded work on inbreeding as an evolutionary driver, kin-biased behavior, and predator-induced plasticity. He leads the working group on evolutionary behavioral ecology of cichlid fishes at the University of Bonn.