Behavioural ecologist Gabriella Gall presents research findings in everyday German on a new YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@MitWissen). Gall is a member of the Zukunftskolleg and the Cluster of Excellence Collective Behaviour at the University of Konstanz as well as of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior. "Every Wednesday, I present a new study from the field of behavioural ecology that I find particularly exciting, funny or surprising – as well as enlightening", Gabriella Gall explains. The first few videos, for example, look into whether bats can recognize the calls of their group members, how well the translucent skin of glass frogs camouflages them, and how dung beetles orient at night.
The project is funded by forum.konstanz at the University of Konstanz.

Sigrid Elmer: What motivated you to start your own science channel on YouTube?

Gabriella Gall: An important part of our work as scientists is to share our findings with the broader public. After all, a large part of our funding comes from taxpayers, so they should also have access to our respective findings. Yet, this is often not the case, since most studies are published in English – and in technical language at that. In addition to this, not all studies are freely and openly accessible, which makes it even more difficult to get a hold of them, even if you read and understand English well. Since I spend a lot of time on YouTube myself, I thought the platform could be a way to reach a few people interested in behavioural ecology who wouldn't otherwise have access to the information.
 

The first three videos look at bats, glass frogs and dung beetles. What exactly did you find out about the animals?

The first three studies focused on different topics in behavioural ecology: group coordination (in bats), camouflage (in frogs) and orientation (in dung beetles).
Spix disc-winged bats face the problem of having to find a new roost every morning, since the leaves they rest in are only suitable for a single use. On top of this, the bats would like to stay in a group, which means that they not only need to find a suitable place to rest in the rainforest, but they also do not want to lose the other members of their group.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57nSIe_IfbI

Can bats recognize the calls of those in their roosting group? (video in German)

And what about the glass frogs and dung beetles?

Glass frogs are semi-translucent. This means their backs are lightly pigmented, and it's not entirely clear, whether this type of transparency really aids in camouflaging the frogs. However, the study's experiments show that the skin seems to be quite helpful for reducing the visible contrast between the frogs and their environment, and thus does camouflage them quite well.

Dung beetles are known to roll a ball out of dung and then use it as food for themselves or their offspring. When they find a fresh pile of dung, it is useful for them to roll their ball in the straightest line possible away from the pile to avoid bumping into other beetles along the way. This is because it would be less work for the other dung beetles to simply take over another's ball than to start rolling one themselves. The study focused on the question of how dung beetles keep their orientation in order to take the straightest (and thus fastest) path.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgmR-5KedFk

How well-camouflaged are glass frogs? (video in German)

Which research results especially impressed you?

In the studies, I am less interested in looking at the results than the methods used to achieve them. This is why, for example, I really enjoy the dung beetle study, as testing the beetles in a planetarium in order to investigate which celestial bodies they actually use for orientation is genius!

How hard is it for you to delve into the respective research projects and put together videos that present the topics to a non-academic audience?

To be honest, the most difficult part is explaining everything using relatively simple German language, because I'm not used to talking about these topics in German. Mostly, the English words are the ones I think of first. From a topical perspective, it is really interesting to read studies from slightly different areas that I would not otherwise come into contact with.

"An important part of our work as scientists is to share our findings with the broader public."

Gabriella Gall, behavioural ecologist and member of the Zukunftskolleg as well as the Cluster of Excellence Collective Behaviour at the University of Konstanz.

Do you pick studies close to your own research project?

No, the idea is to keep the channel's content as broad as possible, i.e. to cover as many facets of behavioural ecology as possible.

How are you financing your YouTube project?

The first 15 episodes on the channel are funded through forum.konstanz. After that, I don't have any funding yet, but I plan on continuing to create content for the channel.

Who helps you produce the videos?

My main support has come from Michael Feindler (in German), who took care of the intro, the outro and the video editing. He also especially pays attention that everything I say can be understood by a lay audience.

What has been your personal highlight?

Seeing the finished video, with the final intro and outro, that my colleague did a great job editing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6_P1GXunxE

How well-camouflaged are glass frogs? (video in German)

How many videos do you have planned?

15 videos are planned through forum.konstanz, but I have already picked out at least 10 more studies that I would like to present. Ideally, I would like to continue generating new videos for the channel for as long as possible. 

And what other formats would you like to use for science communication?

Good question! Today, someone suggested that I make a podcast to share the content from the YouTube channel. And it would also be great to do something where I can meet with people in person.

The forum.konstanz is a key component of the overall strategy "University of Konstanz – creative.together", which promotes top-level research and first-rate teaching through interdisciplinary collaboration, freedoms for creativity and optimized framework conditions. The forum.konstanz connects people and ideas and facilitates connections, for example, between disciplines, between research and teaching, as well as between university and society.
 

Portrait photo: Bruce Boatman