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Life in lakes, streams and ocean

Aquatic ecosystems are critical to Earth’s cycles of carbon and nitrogen and to Earth’s biodiversity, and consequently, they are essential to human health and welfare. Currently, aquatic ecosystems are facing a range of profound challenges that are substantially affecting their structure and function. These include climate change, habitat loss, pollution, overexploitation and invasive species. Understanding the functioning of aquatic ecosystems and their ecological role is central in order to secure a sustainable future for the systems themselves as well as for humans.

At the Department of Biology, we study the responses of aquatic organisms to environmental factors, species interactions in communities, biodiversity patterns, and nutrient and energy flow through aquatic ecosystems. Our work includes ecosystems from tropical to polar with a particular focus on Arctic ecosystems. In our research, we combine field studies, laboratory experiments and mathematical modelling, and the research is often multidisciplinary, combining biology with physics, chemistry, engineering and geoscience. Through our research we generate fundamental knowledge and apply this knowledge to preserve and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems, and to advice stakeholders and politicians in their decision-making.  

Contact a researcher in Life in lakes, streams and ocean

Research areas

Ecophysiology of plants
Photosynthesis
Plant physiology
Aquatic ecosystems
Emissions

Research areas

Biodiversity
Zoology
Biogeography
Evolution
Animal evolution
Phylogeography
Animals
invertebrates
meiofauna
tardigrades
Rotifera
Cycliophora
horseshoe crabs
life cycle
Xenoturbella
Biology
Climatic changes

Research areas

Conservation
Animal adaptation to the environment
Freshwater biology
Fish and fish biology
Marine biology
Climatic changes
Marine ecology
Marine biology
Oceanography
Population biology
Respiration

Research areas

Genetics
DNA
Population genomics
Fish and fish biology
Conservation
Biodiversity
Climatic changes
Evolution

Research areas

Benthic fauna
Benthos
Populations
Macroparasites
Invasive species
Marine biology
Marine ecology

Research areas

Biodiversity
Genetics and molecular evolution
Genome Analysis
Microbiology
Molecular microbiology

Research areas

Sensor technologies
Biomonitoring
Analytical chemistry
Oxygen
Environmental chemistry

Research areas

Marine ecology
Oceanography
Algae
Algae physiology
Adaption
Concentrations and biomasses
Spatial distribution
Extreme environments
Halophiles
Thermophiles

Research areas

Bioacoustics
Biophysics
Conservation
Animal physiology
Animal adaptation to the environment
Whales
Animals
Mammals

Research areas:

  • Microbial genomics
  • Bioinformatics
  • Sediment microbiology
  • Microbial ecology

Research areas

Biodiversity
Benthic fauna
Marine biology
Climatic changes
Marine biology
Population biology
Ecology
Marine ecology
Wetlands
Intertidal flats
Ecological networks and interactions
Parasitism

Research areas

Marine ecology
Zooplankton
Fish
Oceanography
Mathematical models

Research areas

Marine ecology
Macroalgae
Seagrass
Ecophysiology of plants
Dispersal and colonization
Populationdynamics
Algae
Freshwater biology
Marine biology
Coastal zone ecology
Plant physiology
Ecophysiology
Climatic changes

Research topics:

(1) Impact of environmental factors and biogeochemical processes on nutrient and carbon retention and export in stream ecosystems
(2) Impact of climate change on Arctic stream ecosystem functioning 
(3) Biogeochemical links between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems
(4) Macrophyte and biofilm ecology

Research areas:

  • Cycles of elements: sulfur, nitrogen, carbon
  • Aquatic microbial ecology
  • Modelling

Research areas:

  • Understanding of Arctic systems
  • Marine ecology
  • Oceanography
  • Sea ice and glaciers

Research areas

Wetlands
Restoration
Greenhouse gases
Carbon
Arctic Ocean
Primary production
Sea ice
Light
Algae
Photosynthesis
Light
Ecophysiology of plants
Carbon assimilation
Gas exchange
Nutrients

Research areas:

  • Environmental DNA
  • Ecology
  • Evolution
  • Entomology

Research centers in Life in lakes, streams and ocean

Research groups in Life in lakes, streams and ocean