In the quest to gain a better understanding of ecosystems, ecologists must work in teams alongside other ecologists as well as chemists, geologists, physicists, mathematicians, and molecular biologists. To strengthen the interaction, we have identified seven NIOO-wide themes. These are not just hot topics in ecology, but also themes in which we can make the difference.

NIOO aims to play an internationally leading and nationally connecting role within these themes by 2020. Of course there will still be room for ‘blue sky research’ as well.

NIOO-KNAW has identified the following seven research themes:

  • Global environmental change
    All biomes of the world are increasingly influenced by global environmental changes, such as altered land and water use, atmospheric composition, climate and urbanisation. In spite of the awareness that these changes are taking place at an unprecedented rate, our capacity to predict the consequences for species, communities, and ecosystems, as well as assessing the impact of adaptation and mitigation measures, is still limited. A key challenge is to understand how global changes influence interactions of species with their (a)biotic environments, and how this alters densities and distributions of species, sustainable functioning of ecosystems and the sustainable delivery of ecosystem goods and services.
  • Eco-evolutionary dynamics
    Ecology and evolution classically have developed along separate research lines, with one line focusing on shorter and the other on longer term processes. However, there is growing evidence that evolution can also operate at shorter time scales. This has led to the field of eco-evolutionary dynamics. A key challenge of this research field is to study the role of evolution for ecological interactions and processes involving micro- meso- and macroorganisms in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and to better understand how these processes may influence the capacity of species to respond to changes in their (a)biotic environments.
  • Ecological epigenetics
    The classic dogma in evolution is that all selectable variation derives from DNA sequences. However, recent studies show that heritable variation can be based as well on reversible – epigenetic - variation. The adaptive relevance of epigenetics for the ecology and evolution of species, especially the role of epigenetics in interactions of species with their (a)biotic environments and the functioning of ecosystems is practically unknown. A key challenge is to study this in a variety of species with respect to their ecological traits.
  • Microbiomes
    Microbiomes are the collective communities of microbes, their (meta)genomes, and their interactions in a particular environment. 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 (e.g. algae, plants, insects, invertebrates, fish, birds), their communities, and on natural and managed ecosystems.
  • Chemical communication
    Chemical compounds released by organisms into their environment can be used as signals (infochemicals) by other organisms in food webs via sensing and processing of information. Chemical communication has evolved in microbes, plants, as well as animals and plays a major role underlying the functioning of food webs. A key challenge is to understand how the exchange of chemical information shapes biotic interactions and the evolution of species in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.
  • Disease ecology
    Disease ecology is an emerging interdisciplinary field of research that explores the spatiotemporal dynamics and evolution of infectious diseases (e.g. viral, bacterial, fungal) in natural and managed ecosystems. Current and future challenges are to identify (a)biotic factors involved in the emergence and persistence of diseases in relation to the diversity of ecosystems, to assess the impact of diseases on the reproduction and survival of their hosts and to understand and predict the impact of environmental disturbances on the distribution and dynamics of infectious diseases.
  • Restoration ecology
    Many terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems worldwide have been disturbed by local and global environmental changes. Attempts to restore former ecosystems after disturbances are often expensive, and many attempts fail because the original situation cannot be restored, or because the restored state cannot be maintained. A key challenge is to employ basic insights emerging from studies on interactions of species with their (a)biotic environments in order to restore ecosystems to the desired target states. This involves learning from nature in both aquatic and terrestrial systems, which provides important spin-offs in improving the sustainable management of ecosystems used for agri-, horti-, and aquaculture.

 

Further reading: