German Zoological Society

The German Zoological Society (German: Deutsche Zoologische Gesellschaft; abbr. DZG) is a learned society in Germany, founded in 1890 at Frankfurt am Main. It is registered as a non-profit organisation (German: eingetragene Verein) based in Munich.[1]

Activities

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The DZG represents German-speaking zoologists and corresponds with other regional and national zoological societies. It represents the interests of zoology among the scientific learned societies and can be consulted by politicians for advice. Membership is open to any zoologist or student of zoology; the DZG currently has about 1500 members.[2] It organises an annual meeting, which until 2004 was held during the week of Pentecost. However, as many universities no longer have a recess during that period, since 2005 the date of the meeting has been decided by the host university.

The DZG publishes its own scientific journal, Frontiers in Zoology, founded in 2004. It is published in cooperation with the online publisher BioMed Central. The DZG formerly published the Zoologische Anzeiger and Zoologische Jahrbücher, since discontinued.

The DZG awards several prizes to support or recognise scientific work.

Karl Ritter von Frisch Medal

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The Karl Ritter von Frisch Medal is a scientific prize of the DZG. The Medal has been awarded every two years since 1980, to scientists who have distinguished themselves through outstanding zoological work that integrates knowledge from numerous biological disciplines. It is the most prominent scientific prize for zoology in Germany, with an award sum of 10,000 Euros.

List of medallists:[3]

  • 1980 Franz Huber, behavioral science
  • 1982 Werner Nachtigall, bionics
  • 1984 Otto Kinne, marine ecology
  • 1986 Martin Lindauer, behavioral science
  • 1988 Thomas Eisner, biology and chemical ecology
  • 1990 Gerhard Neuweiler, zoology, neuro- and sensory physiology
  • 1992 Herbert Jäckle, biophysics
  • 1994 Rüdiger Wehner, zoology and behavioral science
  • 1996 Bert Hölldobler, behavioral science, socbiology, evolutionary ecology
  • 1998 Peter Berthold, ornithology
  • 2000 Walter J. Gehring, developmental biology and genetics
  • 2002 Friedrich G. Barth, neurobiology
  • 2004 Randolf Menzel, neurobiology
  • 2006 Martin Heisenberg, neurobiology
  • 2008 Gerhard Heldmaier, animal physiology
  • 2010 (no award)
  • 2012 Horst Bleckmann, neuro-, sensory, and behavioral physiology
  • 2014 Charlotte Helfrich-Förster, neurobiology
  • 2016 Diethard Tautz, molecular biology
  • 2018 Stanislav N. Gorb, bionics
  • 2021 Jürgen Heinze, evolutionary biology
  • 2022 Thomas Bosch, developmental biology

Horst Wiehe Dissertation Prize

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The Dissertation Prize of the Horst-Wiehe-Stiftung has been awarded every two years at the DZG Annual Meeting since 1991, to an outstanding doctoral or habilitation thesis on a zoological subject. The prize sum is 2000 Euros (formerly 4000 Deutsche Mark).

Werner Rathmayer Prize

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The Werner Rathmayer Prize is a special prize for original work in zoology, within the Jugend forscht competition for young scientists. It has been awarded annually since 2004. The recipient receives a prize of 500 Euros and free admission to the DZG Annual Meeting in the following year.

  • 2021 Benjamin Palm (Heiligenhaus)
  • 2019 Falco Eigner (Chemnitz)
  • 2017 Stefan Kemmerich (Wipperfürth)
  • 2016 Nora Siefert (Hannover)
  • 2015 Thomas Lindner (Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz)
  • 2014 Freia-Raphaella Lorenz (Bayreuth)
  • 2013 Antonia Trede (Kiel)
  • 2012 Linda Marx (Chemnitz)
  • 2011 Miriam Kreß & Louise Hildebrand (Schlüchtern)
  • 2010 Lisa Hallex (Freiberg)
  • 2009 Jessica Oberheim (Bensheim)
  • 2008 Johannes Dill (Dresden)
  • 2007 Wieland Heim (Chemnitz)
  • 2006 Markus Neumann (Chemnitz)
  • 2005 Sascha Hoinkiss (Schwanewede)
  • 2004 Daniel Schütz (Kemmern)

Presidents of the DZG

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  • 1890/91 Rudolf Leuckart (1822–1898)
  • 1892/93 Franz Eilhard Schulze (1840–1921)
  • 1894/95 Ernst Ehlers (1835–1925)
  • 1896/97 Otto Bütschli (1848–1920)
  • 1898/99 Franz Eilhard Schulze
  • 1900/01 Hubert Ludwig (1852–1913)
  • 1902/03 Carl Chun (1852–1914)
  • 1904/05 Johann Wilhelm Spengel (1852–1921)
  • 1906/07 Richard Hertwig (1850–1937)
  • 1908/09 Ludwig von Graff (1851–1924)
  • 1910/11 Friedrich Zschokke (1860–1936)
  • 1912/13 Eugen Korschelt (1858–1946)
  • 1914/15 Karl Heider (1856–1935)
  • 1916/17 Max Braun (1850–1930)
  • 1918/19 Willy Kükenthal (1861–1922)
  • 1920/21 Ludwig Döderlein (1855–1936)
  • 1922/23 Valentin Haecker (1864–1927)
  • 1924/25 Hans Lohmann (1863–1934)
  • 1926 Ludwig Rhumbler (1864–1939); from 1926 the President was replaced by their first deputy at the end of the year
  • 1927 Richard Hesse (1868–1944)
  • 1928 Karl von Frisch (1886–1982)
  • 1929 Jan Versluys (1873–1939)
  • 1930 Waldemar Schleip (1879–1948)
  • 1931 Max Hartmann (1876–1962)
  • 1932 Carl Zimmer (1873–1950)
  • 1933 Fritz Baltzer (1884–1974), resigned his position because he was not a German citizen, replaced by Paul Buchner
  • 1934 Paul Buchner (1886–1978)
  • 1935 Ernst Matthes (1889–1958)
  • 1936 Ernst Matthes left Germany on political grounds for Coimbra and was replaced by Wilhelm Josef Schmidt
  • 1936/37 Wilhelm Joseph Schmidt (1884–1974)
  • 1938/39 Albrecht Hase (1882–1962)
  • 1940 Hermann Weber (1899–1956)
  • 1941 Hans-Jürgen Stammer (1899–1968)
  • 1942 Otto Mangold (1891–1962)
  • 1943–45 Adolf Remane as acting president
  • 1949/50 Albrecht Hase
  • 1951/52 Wulf Emmo Ankel (1897–1983)
  • 1953/54 Bernhard Rensch (1900–1990)
  • 1955/56 Otto Koehler (1889–1974)
  • 1957/58 Curt Kosswig (1903–1982)
  • 1959/60 Alfred Kaestner (1901–1971)
  • 1961/62 Friedrich Seidel (1897–1992)
  • 1963/64 Adolf Remane (1898–1976)
  • 1965/66 Manfred Gersch (1909–1981)
  • 1967/68 Erich Reisinger (1900–1978)
  • 1969/70 Martin Lindauer (1918–2008)
  • 1971/72 Friedrich Schaller (1920–2018)
  • 1973/74 Günther Osche (1926–2009)
  • 1975/76 Ernst Florey (1927–1997)
  • 1977/78 Dietrich Neumann (1931–2012)
  • 1979/80 Johann Schwartzkopff (1918–1995)
  • 1981/82 Jürgen Boeckh (1934–)
  • 1983/84 Klaus Immelmann (1935–1987)
  • 1985/86 Hans Schneider (1929–2023)
  • 1987/88 Bernt Linzen (1931–1988)
  • 1989/90 Werner Rathmayer (1937–2003)
  • 1991/92 Hans-Rainer Duncker (1933–)
  • 1993/94 Franz Huber (1925–2017)
  • 1995/96 Klaus Peter Sauer (1941–2022)
  • 1997/98 Gerhard Heldmaier (1941–)
  • 1999/00 Albrecht Fischer (1937–)
  • 2001/02 Gerhard Neuweiler (1935–2008)
  • 2003/04 Barbara König (1955–)
  • 2005/06 Diethard Tautz (1957–)
  • 2007/08 Johann-Wolfgang Wägele (1953–)
  • 2009/10 Wolf-Michael Weber (1954–)
  • 2011/12 Hermann Wagner (1953–)
  • 2013/14 Constance Scharff (1959–)
  • 2015/16 Susanne Dobler (1956–)
  • 2017/18 Stefan Richter (1964–)
  • 2019/21 Jacob Engelmann
  • 2022/23 Gabriele Uhl

Honorary members

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Networking

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The Society is a member of the Deutschen Nationalkomitee Biologie (DNK), representing the interests of life scientists in international organisations. It is also a member of the Verband Biologie, Biowissenschaften und Biomedizin in Deutschland e.V. (VBIO), which represents bioscientists in Germany.

Jena Declaration

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main article: Jena Declaration

At its annual meeting in September 2019, the DZG approved and released the Jena Declaration, which stated that "the concept of [human] race is the result of racism, not its prerequisite." The Declaration was authored by Martin S. Fischer, Uwe Hoßfeld, Johannes Krause, and Stefan Richter.

The statement characterised the division of humanity into races as social and political stereotyping, resulting from and supported by an anthropological construct on the basis of arbitrarily chosen features like hair and skin colour. This construct has served to justify open and hidden racism and its consequences.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Impressum". Deutsche Zoologische Gesellschaft e.V. (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  2. ^ "Rundschreiben der Deutschen Zoologischen Gesellschaft e. V." (PDF). December 2020.
  3. ^ "Karl-Ritter-von-Frisch-Medaille". dzg-ev.de (in German). Deutsche Zoologische Gesellschaft. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  4. ^ Deutsche Zoologische Gesellschaft (September 2019). "Jenaer Erklärung. Das Konzept der Rasse ist das Ergebnis von Rassismus und nicht dessen Voraussetzung" (PDF). Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena. Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Deutsche Zoologische Gesellschaft. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
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