Doctoral Researcher
gerrit.wehrenberg@oulu.fi
Currently, I’m interested in population and conservation genetics of cheetah and Siberian flying squirrels. With understanding natural population structures, I want to develop applied molecular tools to tackle in situ and ex situ conservation issues based on genomic data.
Keywords
Current Projects
Grants & Fundings
2025, project grant, Ventura Wildlife Foundation
Project grant for conducting the Galápagos Giant Tortoise project on the European ex situ population
2025, project grant, Swiss Association of Friends of the Galápagos Islands
Project grant for conducting the Galápagos Giant Tortoise project on the European ex situ population
2024, travel grant, Nordplus
Travel grant for traveling to Svalbard and exploring joint teaching opportunities with UNIS
2023 – 2026, personal grant, Biodiverse Anthropocenes (ANTS)
Four years for conducting PhD studies
2019 – 2020, personal grant, Karl und Marie Schack-Stiftung
Eight months for conducting Master’s studies
About me
I was born in the wonderful city of Hannover, Germany, studied Biology (B.Sc.) at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Ecology and Evolution (M.Sc.) at Goethe University Frankfurt, and now conducting my doctoral research at the University of Oulu. Furthermore, I had the chance to participate in the Spring School on Conservation Project Management.
Over the past years, I’ve had the opportunity to learn from many great people through a variety of roles: a herpetological expedition in Panama, nesting box monitorings in Mainz, research assistant at the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt as well as at the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Frankfurt (SBIK-F), project manager at Linking Lynx, and junior curator at Frankfurt Zoo. I’m especially proud of my Europe-wide project to develop a SNP panel for non-invasive genetic monitoring in European bison.
I also strive to engage with biodiversity-related topics in my private life. For example, I contributed as a lender to the exhibition ‘Fungi — Food, Poison and Mythology‘ at the Museum Wiesbaden, exhibited at events such as the student action day ‘Does Culture Promote Nature?’ or the ‘Night of the Museums’ at the Senckenberg Natural History Museum in Frankfurt, and led excursions for children (The Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union – NABU) as well as for first-year university students in Mainz. In addition, I currently volunteer as a curator for two online databases: the Zoo Science Library and zootierliste.de. Since 2015, I have been a member of the Zoological Society for the Conservation of Species and Populations (ZGAP).
Publications
2025
Peer-reviewed Publication: Wehrenberg, G., Kiebler, A., Greve, C., Beltrán-Sanz, N., Ben Hamadou, A., Meißner, R., Winter, S., & Prost, S. (2025). A Prelude to Conservation Genomics: First Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly of a Flying Squirrel (Pteromyini: Pteromys volans). Ecology and Evolution, e71905. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71905Peer-reviewed Publication: Winter, S., Meißner, R., Grethlein, M., Wehrenberg, G., Kiebler, A., Silva, A. X., Escobar, N. R., Quesada Calderón, S. M., Suescún, A. V., Guzman Belmar, L., & Prost, S. (2025). Chromosome-Level genome assembly and transcriptome analysis of the ural owl, Strix uralensis PALLAS, 1771. Journal of Heredity, esaf038. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esaf0382024
Peer-reviewed Publication: Olli, S., Lam, N. T., Hiljanen, S., Kettunen, T., Haikonen, L., Hyvönen, H. M., Kiebler, A., Köngäs, I., Minkkinen, S., Pöykiö, V., Sannikka, V., Vesa, R., Wehrenberg, G., Prost, S., & Prous, M. (2024). Large mitochondrial genomes in tenthredinid sawflies (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae). Mitochondrial DNA Part A, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/24701394.2024.2427206 Peer-reviewed Publication: Göbel, M., Kaiser, S., Richter, H., Wagner, P., & Wehrenberg, G. (2024). Specifically unspecific–Simple devices as feasible and effective enrichment for small mammals. Animal Behavior and Cognition, 11(3), 305-329. https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.11.03.05.2024Peer-reviewed Publication: Wehrenberg, G., Tokarska, M., Cocchiararo, B., & Nowak, C. (2024). A reduced SNP panel optimised for non-invasive genetic assessment of a genetically impoverished conservation icon, the European bison. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 1875. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-51495-92021
Peer-reviewed Publication: Lotzkat, S., Wehrenberg, G., Haas, M., & Köhler, G. (2021). Amphibians (Amphibia, Anura and Caudata) and reptiles (Reptilia, Squamata) from the headwaters of Río Guázaro on the Caribbean versant of Veraguas province, western Panama. Check List, 17(6), 1541-1556. https://doi.org/10.15560/17.6.15412016
Peer-reviewed Publication: Köhler, G., Trejo-Pérez, R. G., Reuber, V., Wehrenberg, G., & Méndez De La Cruz, F. R. (2016). A survey of tadpoles and adult anurans in the Sierra Madre del Sur of Oaxaca, Mexico (Amphibia: Anura). Mesoamerican herpetology, 3(3), 640-660.Outreach (a selection)
Online, Broadcast and Print Media
TV Report: Korkala, H. (2025). Oululaistutkijat ratkaisivat liito-oravan perimän ensimmäisinä maailmassa – tätä se tarkoittaa. Yle, 20.11.2025. (Finnish)Press Release: University of Oulu (2025). The entire genome of the flying squirrel assembled for the first time in Oulu – boosts conservation efforts. University of Oulu, 20.11.2025. (English/Finnish)Newspaper Article: Platner, L. (2025). Für den Zoo ist die Tier-Forschung eine wichtige Säule – Wie Konfliktlösung mit DNA-Analysen möglich ist. Westdeutsche Zeitung, 01.03.2025, 19. (German)Blog Post: Wehrenberg, G. (2024). A new SNP panel for the old problems of a conservation icon: truly applied conservation genetics for the European bison. Ecology & Evolution and Genetics & Genomics, Behind the Paper, Springer Nature Research Communities, 23.01.2025. (English)Online Article: Tzschaschel, M. (2024). Genetische Vielfalt: Fit trotz verwandter Eltern: Die überraschenden Vorteile der Inzucht. GEO+, 14.03.2024. (German)Magazine Article: Wehrenberg, G. (2022). Populationsgenetik in Zoos? – von Wisenten und Perspektiven in der Naturschutzgenetik. Tiergarten – Magazin für Zoointeressierte, 1/2022, 22-30. (German)