Onderzoeksthema's
Bij de zoektocht om ecosystemen beter te begrijpen, is het noodzakelijk om in teams te werken. Om de interactie te versterken, kiezen we een aantal NIOO-brede thema’s. Dit zijn niet alleen 'hot topics' in de ecologie, maar ook onderwerpen waarin wij het verschil kunnen maken.
Onze ambitie is dat het NIOO een (inter)nationaal leidende en nationaal verbindende rol speelt binnen deze thema's. Daarnaast blijft er uiteraard ruimte voor ‘blue sky research’.
Er is gekozen voor de volgende zeven onderzoeksthema’s:
Chemical ecology
Infochemicals are the world's most widespread communication medium. How does the exchange of chemical information shape biotic interactions and evolution of species in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems?
Disease ecology
Disease ecology explores the dynamics and evolution of diseases (e.g. viral, bacterial, fungal) in
natural and managed ecosystems.
Eco-evolutionary dynamics
A key challenge for NIOO is to study the role of evolution for ecological interactions and processes, in order to better understand how these processes may influence the capacity of species to respond to changes in their (a)biotic environments.
Ecological epigenetics
Epigenetics may enable rapid environmental responses and generate heritable variation, and is therefore particularly relevant for understanding species’ climate change adaptations and potentially for improvement of low-diversity crops.
Global environmental change
All biomes of the world are increasingly influenced by global environmental changes. Our research enhances understanding on how global changes influence ecological interactions.
Microbiomes
Important challenges are to unravel the processes and mechanisms involved in microbiome diversity and assembly and to elucidate the impact of microbiomes on the functioning of their hosts.
Restoration ecology
Many terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems worldwide have been disturbed by local and global environmental changes. The proliferation of exotics is much more symptom than cause of disruption.
