Prof. Dr. Arne Ludwig
Scientist
Head "Selection of traits and domestication, wildlife forensics"
Department of Evolutionary Genetics
Tel: 0049 (0) 30 5168 - 312
E-Mail: ludwig@izw-berlin.de
Short curriculum vitae
Arne is adjunct Professor at the Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute at the Faculty of Life Sciences of the Humboldt University Berlin. Research and teaching are focused on animal genetics and wildlife forensics. He completed his dissertation in Breeding Biology and Molecular Genetics in 1997. Between 1997-2001 Arne was a post-doc at the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries where he started with his research on the restoration of sturgeon in German rivers as well as on genetic methods for trade control of caviar. Both projects are running until today. Arne came to the IZW in 2002. He is a member of several scientific advisory boards and is the Chair of the IUCN Sturgeon Specialist Group. Arne gives lectures on genetics and conservation genetics at several universities (Hildesheim, Madrid, Berlin).
Projects
Research interests
- Genetic adaptation and selection
- Conservation genetics
- Domestication
- Wildlife forensics
Selected publications
Sayer CA, Fernando E, Jimenez RR, … Ludwig A, …. Darwall, WRT (2025): One-quarter of freshwater fauna threatened with extinction. NATURE 638, 138–145. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08375-z.
Librado P, Tressières G, Chauvey L, … Ludwig A, …. Orlando, L (2024): Widespread horse-based mobility arose around 2200 bce in Eurasia. NATURE 631, 819–825. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07597-5.
Ludwig A, Jahrl J, Congiu L, et al. (2023): Poaching and illegal trade of Danube sturgeons. CURR. BIOL. 33, R1184 - R1185. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2023.09.067.
Congiu L, Striebel-Greiter B, Gessner J, Boscari E, Boner M, Jahrl J, Dalle Palle S, Ludwig A (2023): Identification and tracking of sturgeons and paddlefish products in trade: Implications for trade control and biodiversity management. AQUACULTURE 574, 739708. doi:10.1016/j.aquaculture.2023.739708.
Librado P, Khan N, Fages A, (…), Ludwig A, (…), Wincker P, Outram A, Orlando L (2021): The origins and spread of domestic horses from the Western Eurasian steppes. NATURE 598, 634-640. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-04018-9.
Librado P, Tressières G, Chauvey L, … Ludwig A, …. Orlando, L (2024): Widespread horse-based mobility arose around 2200 bce in Eurasia. NATURE 631, 819–825. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07597-5.
Ludwig A, Jahrl J, Congiu L, et al. (2023): Poaching and illegal trade of Danube sturgeons. CURR. BIOL. 33, R1184 - R1185. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2023.09.067.
Congiu L, Striebel-Greiter B, Gessner J, Boscari E, Boner M, Jahrl J, Dalle Palle S, Ludwig A (2023): Identification and tracking of sturgeons and paddlefish products in trade: Implications for trade control and biodiversity management. AQUACULTURE 574, 739708. doi:10.1016/j.aquaculture.2023.739708.
Librado P, Khan N, Fages A, (…), Ludwig A, (…), Wincker P, Outram A, Orlando L (2021): The origins and spread of domestic horses from the Western Eurasian steppes. NATURE 598, 634-640. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-04018-9.
Westbury MV, Hartmann S, Barlow A, Preick M, Ridush B, Nagel D, Rathgeber T, Ziegler R, Baryshnikov G, Sheng G, Ludwig A, Wiesel I, Dalen L, Bibi F, Werdelin L, Heller R, Hofreiter M (2020): Hyena palaeogenomes reveal a complex evolutionary history of cross-continental gene flow between spotted and cave hyena. SCI ADV 6, eaay0456. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aay0456.
Fages A, Hanghøj K, Khan N, (…), Ludwig A, (…), Outram AK, Librado P, Orlando L (2019): Tracking Five Millennia of Horse Management with Extensive Ancient Genome Time Series. CELL 177, 1419-1435.e31. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2019.03.049.
Gaunitz C, Fages A, Hanghøj K, Albrechtsen A, Khan N, Schubert M, Seguin-Orlando A, Owens IJ, Felkel S, Bignon-Lau O, de Barros Damgaard P, Mittnik A, Mohaseb AF, Davoudi H, Alquraishi S, Alfarhan AH, Al-Rasheid KAS, Crubézy E, Benecke N, Olsen S, Brown D, Anthony D, Massy K, Pitulko V, Kasparov A, Brem G, Hofreiter M, Mukhtarova G, Baimukhanov N, Lõugas L, Onar V, Stockhammer PW, Krause J, Boldgiv B, Undrakhbold S, Erdenebaatar D, Lepetz S, Mashkour M, Ludwig A, Wallner B, Merz V, Merz I, Zaibert V, Willerslev E, Librado P, Outram AK, Orlando L (2018): Ancient genomes revisit the ancestry of domestic and Przewalski’s horses. SCIENCE 360, 111-114. doi:10.1126/science.aao3297.
Westbury MV, Hartmann S, Barlow A, Wiesel I, Leo V, Welch R, Parker DM, Sicks F, Ludwig A, Dalén L, Hofreiter M (2018): Extended and continuous decline in effective population size results in low genomic diversity in the world's rarest hyena species, the brown hyena. MOL BIOL EVOL 35, 1225-1237. doi:10.1093/molbev/msy037.
Wutke S*, Sandoval-Castellanos E*, Benecke N, Döhle H-J, Friederich S, Gonzalez J, Hofreiter M, Lõugas L, Magnell O, Malaspinas A-S, Morales-Muñiz A, Orlando L, Reissmann M, Trinks A, Ludwig A (2018): Decline of genetic diversity in ancient domestic stallions in Europe. SCI ADV 4, eaap9691 (*contributed equally). doi:10.1126/sciadv.aap9691.
Librado P, Gamba C, Gaunitz C, Der Sarkissian C, Pruvost M, Albrechtsen A, Fages A, Khan N, Schubert M, Jagannathan V, Serres-Armero A, Kuderna LFK, Povolotskaya IS, Seguin-Orlando A, Lepetz S, Neuditschko M, Thèves C, Alquraishi S, Alfarhan AH, Al-Rasheid K, Rieder S, Samashev Z, Francfort H-P, Benecke N, Hofreiter M, Ludwig A, Keyser C, Marques-Bonet T, Ludes B, Crubézy E, Leeb T, Willerslev E, Orlando L (2017): Ancient genomic changes associated with domestication of the horse. SCIENCE 356, 442-445. doi:10.1126/science.aam5298.
Sandoval-Castellanos E, Wutke S, Gonzalez-Salazar C, Ludwig A (2017): Coat colour adaption of post-glacial horses to increasing forest vegetation. NAT ECOL EVOL 1, 1816–1819. doi:10.1038/s41559-017-0358-5.
Last updated on March, 24th, 2025