Covering all Levels of Ecological Organization

ECOSPHERE covers all levels of ecological organization from molecular markers to the complex situation at the field level. Whereas the ecological relevance increases with increasing level of organization, so does the complexity of the processes involved and the time scale needed to study these processes. In contrast, molecular and cellular changes are fast and specific, but the consequences of the changes at these levels are not always obvious. With our work we want to link changes at the molecular and cellular level to the ecologically relevant higher levels of organization, so that their quick responses can be used as 'biomarkers' or 'early warning systems' for changes to come. 

Please visit our research themes for more details and our technology page for a view of our technological capabilities.