Projects

Kili-SES2: “The role of nature for human well-being in the Kilimanjaro social-ecological system”, sub-project 2, “Supply of beneficial and detrimental nature’s contributions to people and their regulation through ecological networks”. Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Period: 10/2025-04/2029. Role: PI of the work package “Perceived versus potential supply of beneficial and detrimental nature’s contributions to people” and Co-PI of two other work packages.

Effective interventions for sustainable citizen behavior. Funded by Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst e.V. (DAAD) as part of the Programme for Project-Related Personal Exchange (Germany - Australia. Period: 01/2026 – 12/2027. Role: PI Germany (PI Australia: Lily van Eeden).

Former projects

CE-NRM: “Applying Cultural Evolutionary Science to Inform Decision-Making and Policy, Improve Social and Ecological Outcomes, and Adapt Processes and Institutions in Natural Resource Management and Conservation”. Funding by the Cultural Evolution Society Transformation Fund. Period: 09/2022 – 08/2024. Role: Co-PI

Research Focus

• Human-nature relationships
• Social-ecological systems
• Conflict and coexistence with wildlife, particularly wolves
• Conservation culture and conflicts
• Impacts of nature on people’s quality of life
• Pathways to sustainable behavior

Geographic focus

• Tanzania
• Germany
• Australia
• Global-scale studies

Theories

• Conceptual Framework of IPBES (Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services)
• Nature Futures Framework
• Theory of Planned Behavior
• Wildlife Hazard Acceptance Model

Concepts

• Value pluralism; intrinsic, instrumental, and relational values
• Wildlife Value Orientations
• Attitude and behavior change

Methods

• Interdisciplinary, social-ecological research
• Face-to-face surveys and interviews with local communities
• Large-scale online surveys
• Non-verbal qualitative methods (e.g., using visuals)
• Participatory scenario planning workshops

Journal articles

Berl, R. E. W., Fisk, J. J., van Eeden, L. M., Salerno, J., Fernández-Llamazares, Á., Leong, K. M., Long, J. W., Boomer, G. S., Williams, C. K., Arbieu, U., Lehnen, L., Landon, A. C., Ellis, E. C., Verschuuren, B., Larson, L. R., & Gavin, M. C. (2025). Foundational principles of an applied cultural evolutionary science for natural resource management and conservation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 380(1940), 20240262. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2024.0262

Degano, M. E., Augustino Kwaslema, S., Böhning-Gaese, K., Hemp, A., Lehnen, L., Martín-López, B., Pearson, J., Mueller, T., & Arbieu, U. (2025). Perceptions of nature and its non-material contributions to people at Mount Kilimanjaro. People and Nature, 7(7), 1697–1712. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.70079

van Eeden, L. M., Martin, J. V., Fisk, J., Lehnen, L., Ellis, E. C., Gavin, M. C., Landon, A. C., Larson, L. R., Leong, K. M., Linklater, W., Williams, C. K., & Berl, R. E. W. (2025). Species nativeness as a cultural paradigm in conservation. Biological Conservation, 311, 111415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111415

Weber, E. M. G., Lehnen, L., Lombardi, D., & Brod, G. (2025). Practice testing enhances learning but not attitude change from persuasive texts. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 32935. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-20874-1

Arbieu, U.; Taysse, L.; Gimenez, O.; Lehnen, L.; Mueller, T. (2024): Emotional States Elicited by Wolf Videos are Diverse and Explain General Attitudes Towards Wolves. People and Nature, 6(3), 1288-1302. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10637. Open access.

Arbieu, U.; Albrecht, J.; Böhning-Gaese, K.; Lehnen, L.; Schleuning, M.; Mueller, T. (2023): The Attitudinal Space Framework: Embracing the Multidimensionality of Attitudinal Diversity. iScience, 26(8), 107340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.107340. Open access.

Naef, T.; Besnard, A.-L.; Lehnen, L.; Petit, E. J.; van Schaik, J.; Puechmaille, S. J. (2023): How to Quantify Factors Degrading DNA in the Environment and Predict Degradation for Effective Sampling Design. Environmental DNA, 5(3), 403–416. https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.414.

Lehnen, L.; Arbieu, U.; Böhning-Gaese, K.; Díaz, S.; Glikman, J. A.; Mueller, T. (2022): Rethinking Individual Relationships with Entities of Nature. People and Nature, 4(3), 596–611. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10296. Open access. 

Lehnen, L.^§; Jan, P.-L. ^§; Besnard, A.-L.; Fourcy, D.; Kerth, G.; Biedermann, M.; Nyssen, P.; Schorcht, W.; Petit, E. J.; Puechmaille, S. J. (2021): Genetic Diversity in a Long-lived Mammal is Explained by the Past’s Demographic Shadow and Current Connectivity. Molecular Ecology, 30(20), 5048–5063. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16123. Open access ^§Lehnen & Jan contributed equally to this work.

Lehnen, L.; Mueller, T.; Reinhardt, I.; Kaczensky, P.; Arbieu, U. (2021): Gesellschaftliche Einstellungen zur Rückkehr des Wolfs nach Deutschland. Natur und Landschaft, Schwerpunktausgabe: Luchs und Wolf zurück in Deutschland, 27–33. https://shop.kohlhammer.de/gesellschaftliche-einstellungen-zur-ruckkehr-des-wolfs-nach-deutschland-978-3-00-153871-0.html

de Boon, A.; Sandström, C.; Arbieu, U.; Hansen, I.; Lehnen, L.; Marino, A.; Pohja-Mykrä, M.; Risvoll, C.; Strand, G.-H.; Rønningen, K. (2021): Governing Dual Objectives Within Single Policy Mixes: An Empirical Analysis of Large Carnivore Policies in Six European Countries. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 23(4), 399–413. https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2020.1841614. Open access.

Jan, P.-L. ^§; Lehnen, L. ^§; Besnard, A.-L.; Kerth, G.; Biedermann, M.; Schorcht, W.; Petit, E. J.; Le Gouar, P.; Puechmaille, S. J. (2019): Range Expansion is Associated with Increased Survival and Fecundity in a Long-lived Bat Species. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 286(1906), 20190384. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0384^§Lehnen & Jan contributed equally to this work.

Zarzoso‐Lacoste, D.; Jan, P.; Lehnen, L.; Girard, T.; Besnard, A.; Puechmaille, S. J.; Petit, E. J. (2018): Combining Noninvasive Genetics and a New Mammalian Sex‐linked Marker Provides New Tools to Investigate Population Size, Structure and Individual Behaviour: An Application to Bats. Molecular Ecology Resources, 18(2), 217–228. https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.12727

Lehnen, L.; Schorcht, W.; Karst, I.; Biedermann, M.; Kerth, G.; Puechmaille, S. J. (2018): Using Approximate Bayesian Computation to Infer Sex Ratios from Acoustic Data. PLOS ONE, 13(6), e0199428. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0199428. Open access.

‘Tag des Wolfs’, Hessischer Runderfunk (hr-info), radio feature including interview with Lisa Lehnen. 30.April 2024.

‘Wer hat Angst vorm bösen Wolf?‘, Leibniz Association report on science exhibition featuring a wolf exhibit co-developed by Lisa Lehnen. https://www.leibniz-forschungsmuseen.de/ms-wissenschaft-2022

‚Meet the Scientist: Koexistenz von Mensch und Wolf in Deutschland‘. MS Wissenschaft, 2022. https://archiv.ms-wissenschaft.de/2022/de/ausstellung/veranstaltungen/meet-the-scientist-mensch-und-wolf/index.html

‚Wölfe und ihr Verhalten: Können Sie mit einer Expertin mithalten? Science quiz developed by Lisa Lehnen for t-online and Leibniz Association science quiz series. https://www.t-online.de/leben/familie/quiz/id_91160490/woelfe-und-ihr-verhalten-testen-sie-ihr-wissen-im-wissenschaftsquiz.html

• Society for Social-Ecological Systems
• Society for Conservation Biology
• British Ecological Society
• Arbeits für Friedens- und Konfliktforschung e.V. / German Association for Peace and Conflict Studies