Titleimage: Institute of Ecology and Evolution

The Institute of Ecology & Evolution at the University of Bern is devoted to research and teaching in all aspects of ecology and evolution, and aim to provide a scientific basis for the understanding and preservation of our living world. We study the mechanisms by which organisms respond to and interact with their environment, including phenotypic responses at individual level, change in gene frequencies at population level, change in species composition and abundance at community level, and the functioning of whole ecosystems.

The institute has core research facilities, including several different field stations in Switzerland, extensive aquarium and animal husbandry facilities, and state-of-the-art molecular genetics laboratories. It also maintains institutional bonds with the Eawag Centre of Ecology, Evolution & Biogeochemistry, the Natural History Museum of BernInstitute of Bee Health, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, the Swiss Ornithological Institute, and the Doctoral School in Ecology & Evolution of Western Switzerland.

Applications

The IEE is now accepting applications for two new tenure-track assistant professors: one in the area of Conservation Biology and the other in Mathematical or Computational Ecology.

News and Events

2025/01/07

ISME Image Award

Chujin Ruan (Eawag) and Dave Johnson (Eawag and UniBe) won the image competition for the cover of The ISME Journal. The image is a confocal laser scanning image of two microorganisms as they grow together across a surface. The image depicts how metabolic and physical interactions between microorganisms drive spatial self-organizing processes and lead to microscale pattern formation. The image will be presented on the cover for the entirety of 2025.

2025/01/06

Prof. Dr. Laurent Excoffier holds his farewell lecture

On 10. December 2024, Prof. Dr. Laurent Excoffier held his final lecture for the IEE, entitled "Riding a genetic wave, surfing, and looking backward”. In this lecture, Laurent gave us a wonderful tour of his long and distinguished career from both a personal and a professional perspective. He gave us an inspirational overview of how his groundbreaking research has combined computational approaches and population genetics to understand the evolutionary expansions of humans across the world. In addition, Laurent provided some great advice for young scientists, based on the lessons he learned along his own scientific path. To honour his contributions, we presented Laurent with the first-ever “IEE Lifetime Achievement Award”. Although Laurent will retire from his position as Professor and Head of the Division of Computational and Molecular Population Genetics at the end of January 2025, as he noted in his talk “This is not the end…”! The entire IEE thanks Laurent for his nearly 25 years of excellence in research, teaching and service at the IEE and the University of Bern, and wishes him all the best for his new adventures.

2024/12/16
2024/10/14

First-ever IEE Symposium successfully held

On September 11 and 12, our first symposium was organized at the Natural History Museum in Bern. This one-and-a-half-day event was attended by more than 80 members of the institute including MSc students, PhD candidates, postdocs, technicians, administrative staff and PIs. There were several talks grouped into five overlapping research themes across different divisions. A dedicated poster session was also organized during the symposium. The symposium fostered a vibrant exchange of knowledge, underscoring the diverse expertise and collaborative spirit of our institute.

2024/09/16

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