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Matthias Glaubrecht

ヨアヒム・マティアス・グラウブレヒト

Joachim Matthias Glaubrecht

Aliases: Joachim Matthias Glaubrecht

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1962-10-08 （Hamburg）
Nationality
Germany
Languages
German, English
Residence History
Hamburg (birth/residence) → Berlin (worked at Museum für Naturkunde) → Sydney (Visiting Research Fellow, Australian Museum)

Career

Occupations
evolutionary biologist, biosystematist, science historian, museum director, university professor, author, science writer
Active Years
1990-
Affiliations
Centrum für Naturkunde / Museum der Natur Hamburg (Director), Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (Evolutioneum project), Museum für Naturkunde (Berlin), University of Hamburg (Professor), Australian Museum (visiting researcher)
Memberships
Member of the editorial board of Species, Phylogeny and Evolution, Member of the editorial board of Malacologia, German Wildlife Foundation (curatorium, since 2020), Hagenbeck Foundation (advisory board, since 2019), German Optical Museum (scientific advisory board, since 2018), German Research Foundation (subject committee for zoology, 2008–2011)

Education

University of Hamburg
Faculty of Science (Biology) / Zoological Institute
Degree: Diplom (Biologie)
Period: 1980s–1990
Year of Graduation: 1990
Country: Germany
Diploma in Biology
University of Hamburg
Faculty of Science (Biology) / Zoological Institute
Degree: 博士（Dr.）
Period: 1990–1994
Year of Graduation: 1994
Country: Germany
PhD awarded in 1994
Humboldt University of Berlin
Degree: Habilitation
Period: 2011
Year of Graduation: 2011
Country: Germany
Completed habilitation at Humboldt University in 2011

Awards

Sigmund-Freud-Preis für wissenschaftliche Prosa
2023
Organization: Awarding organization (Sigmund Freud Prize)
Result: 受賞
Salus Media Prize (Otto-Greither Special Prize)
2020
Work: Das Ende der Evolution
Organization: Salus (company)
Result: 受賞（Otto-Greither Sonderpreis）
Bscher Media Award (Friends and Supporters of Humboldt University)
2006
Organization: Friends and Supporters of Humboldt University
Result: 受賞
Werner and Inge Grüter Prize for Science Communication
1996
Organization: Awarding organization (Werner and Inge Grüter Prize)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Das stille Sterben der Natur – Wie wir die Artenvielfalt und uns selbst retten

2025 non-fiction (science; biodiversity, conservation)

Discusses why the biodiversity crisis is insufficiently recognized and taken seriously, pointing to an excessive focus on climate change, failures of traditional conservation, and underfunding of ecological and biosystematic research; issues a warning about species conservation and human survival.

biodiversityextinction crisisconservationscience policy

Das Ende der Evolution: Humankind and the annihilation of species

2019 non-fiction (evolution; biodiversity)

Links species loss since the extinction of dinosaurs to the current mass extinction driven by human activity, discussing risks to species and consequences for humankind.

evolutionmass extinctionhuman impact

Dichter, Naturkundler, Welterforscher: Adelbert von Chamisso and the search for the Northeast Passage

2023 history of science / biography

Portrays Adelbert von Chamisso as poet and naturalist, examining his explorations, scientific achievements and the search for the Northeast Passage.

history of scienceexplorationnatural history

Bibliography

  • Das stille Sterben der Natur – Wie wir die Artenvielfalt und uns selbst retten. 2025
  • Dichter, Naturkundler, Welterforscher. Adelbert von Chamisso und die Suche nach der Nordostpassage. 2023
  • Die Rache des Pangolin. Wild gewordene Pandemien und der Schutz der Artenvielfalt. 2022
  • Das Ende der Evolution. Der Mensch und die Vernichtung der Arten. 2019
  • Adelbert von Chamisso: The Diaries of the World Voyage 1815–1818 (editor). 2019
  • Adventures on the Amazon and Rio Negro. Alfred Russel Wallace. 2014
  • At the End of the Archipelago. Alfred Russel Wallace. 2013
  • Evolution in action (editor). 2010
  • It is as if one confesses a murder. A day in the life of Charles Darwin. 2009
  • Side steps of evolution. Machos and other mysteries of biology. 2005
  • The whole world is an island. Observations of an evolutionary biologist. 2002
  • The long breath of creation. 1995

Style & Themes

Literary Style
accessible exposition of specialised biological knowledge for general readershistorical perspective in science-writingalarm-raising, persuasive essayistic tone
Recurring Motifs
extinction and loss of biodiversityisland biogeography and evolutionary case studiesbiographical accounts and exploration in history of science

Legacy

Has communicated natural history and evolutionary biology to the public, contributing to awareness of the biodiversity crisis; has strengthened academic infrastructure through museum leadership and journal editorship.

Museums

  • Centrum für Naturkunde / Museum der Natur Hamburg Hamburg (including HafenCity)
  • Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (former affiliation) Berlin

Academic Societies

  • editorial boards and journal-related organisations
  • academic networks around Humboldt University and the Leibniz Institute

Archives

  • Holdings and records in the German National Library (Deutsche Nationalbibliothek)

Quotes

  • “We will probably lose, above all, ourselves — a large part of humankind. It will be the end of evolution with the animals and plants and the living world as we know it.”
    Source: Das Ende der Evolution and related interviews (2019) (2019)

Trivia

  • GND (Integrated Authority File): 120120038
  • VIAF: 62371108
  • LCCN: no2006089632