I am a Swiss biologist. Currently, I am working as a researcher in Cognitive Zoology at Lund University in Sweden.

I have many research interests, but they all boil down to the question “How does Thinking itself evolve?”. I study the cognition (mental capacities) of diverse animal species and compare them to each other. Based on how these species are related I can deduce how their cognition evolved.

My speciality is to develop experimental setups that target very specific questions. For most of my studies I use playback experiments, which involve recording the vocalizations of animals and playing them back to them in specific contexts. I consider the ecology of the species I am working with and try to create experiments which are biologically meaningful to them. This results in natural responses and completely voluntary participation. I usually do not train the animals for these setups, because I am interested in what they are spontaneously capable of.

I am affiliated with the University of Zurich, the University of Vienna, the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, the University of Lincoln, and Lund University. I also travelled extensively to work with animals in zoos, sanctuaries and in the wild. So far, I have lived for longer periods of time in Switzerland, South Africa, Austria, England, USA, and Sweden.