Philipp Hohenbrink
Philipp Hohenbrink (né: Kappel)
Research interests
Evolutionary genetics of pheromonal communication in mouse lemurs
PhD project at the University of Veterinary Medicine (TiHo) in Hannover (Germany), in collaboration with the Evolutionary Genetics Group, University of Cambridge (UK)
Funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.
Intraspecific pheromonal communication is found in a variety of animals including mammals but not yet fully understood. Most mammals possess a vomeronasal organ (VNO) which is specialized for pheromone detection, but non-functional in humans. Whereas in rodents many important insights into the role of the VNO in pheromone function have been elucidated, data on the possible evolutionary role of pheromones in primates are limited. Mouse lemurs are an ideal model system to study pheromonal communication in primates, because the important roles of odours in the social system of these nocturnal strepsirrhines are well known. My study aims to identify the genes for pheromonal receptors in the VNO of mouse lemurs as a model for the ancestral primate condition and to confirm their expression. The variation of these genes within and between mouse lemur populations as well as between different species will be analysed in order to determine the level of selection on these genes and their role of these pheromone receptor genes in sexual selection, population divergence and speciation processes.
Philipp Hohenbrink (né: Kappel)
Professional and scientific career
Since 03.2010
Doctoral thesis at the Institute of Zoology (TiHo)
Title: Evolutionary genetics of pheromonal communication in mouse lemurs
2007 - 2009
M.Sc. Animal Biology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover
2004 - 2007
B.Sc. Biology, Leibniz University Hannover
Awards & grants
Since 05.2010
Scholarship of the VolkswagenStiftung supporting the doctoral thesis (3 years)
09. - 10.2008
DAAD scholarship „Anfertigung einer Masterarbeit im Ausland“ in
Madagascar
Further scientific activities
- DZG (Deutsche Zoologisch Gesellschaft)
- GfP (Gesellschaft für Primatologie)
- ESEB (European Society for Evolutionary Biology)
Publications
I. Articles in peer reviewed journals
2011
Kappel, P., Hohenbrink, S. & Radespiel, U., (2011): Experimental evidence for olfactory predator recognition in wild mouse lemurs, American Journal of Primatology 73: 928–938
II. Abstracts of international conferences
2011
Kappel P., Radespiel U. & Mundy N: Vomeronasal-1 receptor (V1R) gene repertoire of mouse lemurs (Microcebus) under strong and variable positive selection. Talk at the 12th Meeting on Chemical Signals in Vertebrates (CSiV XII), Berlin, 28.-31.08.2011
Kappel P., Radespiel U. & Mundy N: Extensive and variable positive selection in the vomeronasal-1 receptor (V1R) gene repertoire of mouse lemurs (Microcebus). Talk at the 13th Congress of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology (ESEB) 2011, Tübingen, 20.-25.08.2011
2009
Kappel, P.; Zimmermann, E.; Radespiel, U.: Olfactory predator recognition in two sympatric mouse lemur species (Microcebus murinus and M. ravelobensis) in Northwest Madagascar. 102. Jahresversammlung der Deutschen Zoologischen Gesellschaft, Regensburg, 25.-28.9.2009, p.26.