The Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) is one of the ten

research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

institutes of the Faculty of Science of the

Universiteit van Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

. IBED employs more than 100 researchers, with PhD students and Postdocs forming a majority, and 30 supporting staff. The total annual budget is around 10 m€, of which more than 40 per cent comes from external grants and contracts. The main output consist of publications in peer reviewed journals and books (on average 220 per year). Each year around 15 PhD students defend their thesis and obtain their degree from the Universiteit van Amsterdam. The institute is managed by a general director appointed by the Dean of the Faculty for a period of five years, assisted by a business manager.

Mission statement

The mission of the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics is to increase our insights in the functioning and

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

ecosystems An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

in all their complexity. Knowledge of the interactions between living

organisms In biology, an organism () is any living system that functions as an individual entity. All organisms are composed of cells (cell theory). Organisms are classified by taxonomy into groups such as multicellular animals, plants, and fungi; ...

and processes in their physical and chemical environment is essential for a better understanding of the dynamics of ecosystems at different temporal and spatial scales.

Organization of IBED Research

IBED research is organized in the following three themes:

Theme I: Biodiversity and Evolution

The main question of Theme I research is how patterns in biodiversity can be explained from underlying processes:

speciation Speciation is the evolutionary process by which populations evolve to become distinct species. The biologist Orator F. Cook coined the term in 1906 for cladogenesis, the splitting of lineages, as opposed to anagenesis, phyletic evolution within ...

and

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

, dispersal and the (dis)appearance of

geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

barriers,

reproductive isolation The mechanisms of reproductive isolation are a collection of evolutionary mechanisms, behaviors and physiological processes critical for speciation. They prevent members of different species from producing offspring, or ensure that any offspring ...

and hybridisation of taxa. Modern reconstructions of the history of life on earth rely heavily on analyses of DNA data that contain the footprints of the past. Research related to human-made effects on biodiversity includes the identification of endangered biodiversity hotspots affected by global change, potential risks of an escape of transgenes from crops to wild

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

, and the consequences of

habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological processes ...

for the viability and

genetic diversity Genetic diversity is the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species, it ranges widely from the number of species to differences within species and can be attributed to the span of survival for a species. It is dis ...

populations Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

and species.

Theme II: Geo-ecology

Research in Theme II concentrates on the physical and

chemical A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wi ...

properties of

the environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning in this case not artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses t ...

, and how these affect the

living organisms In biology, an organism () is any life, living system that functions as an individual entity. All organisms are composed of cells (cell theory). Organisms are classified by taxonomy (biology), taxonomy into groups such as Multicellular o ...

in an

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

. The spatial and temporal scale ranges from fluxes at the

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...

level to the reconstruction of

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

in different continents. Research related to human effects on ecosystems includes the fate of chemical

pollutants A pollutant or novel entity is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effects, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. These can be both naturally forming (i.e. minerals or extracted compounds like oi ...

in the system, CO₂ sequestering,

nutrient A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...

fluxes and

soil fertility Soil fertility refers to the ability of soil to sustain agricultural plant growth, i.e. to provide plant habitat and result in sustained and consistent yields of high quality.

and the effects of

land use Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. Land use by humans has a long h ...

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

and

desertification Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused by ...

Theme III: Community Dynamics

Research in Theme III aims to understand the dynamics of natural communities given the diversity and behaviour of the organisms present in the system. Individual variation - for instance in

developmental stage Stages of development may refer to: Biology *Developmental biology, the study of the process by which animals and plants grow and develop *Prenatal development, also called fetal development, or embryology *Human development (biology), the proc ...

or in genetic response - can have a major impact on the stability of complex

biological systems A biological system is a complex network which connects several biologically relevant entities. Biological organization spans several scales and are determined based different structures depending on what the system is. Examples of biological syst ...

. The research of Theme III has many applications: control of

pests PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...

and plagues, prevention of toxic

algal blooms An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in freshwater or marine water systems. It is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. The term ''algae'' encompa ...

, managing fish populations by harvesting and restocking, and control of

turbidity Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality. Fluids can ...

in aquatic systems.

Organization of IBED Education

IBED is closely involved in several

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

and MSc programmes of the

. Especially the MSc programmes that are taught in English are highly integrated within the research of IBED.

Notable staff

* Prof.

Corina Brussaard Corina Brussaard is a leading scientist for Antarctic viral ecology working for the Royal Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ) and is a Special Professor of Viral Ecology at the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics of the University of ...

External links

Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (English)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Institute For Biodiversity And Ecosystem Dynamics University of Amsterdam Research institutes in the Netherlands Biological research institutes