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, the,, the, and the. 22.02.19 17.01.19 18.01.19 13.12.18 Volz Award Winners 2018 The Volz Award for 2018 has been awarded to Dario Bayani (best publication from MSc thesis: To pee or not to pee: urine signals mediate aggressive interactions in the cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher) and Manon Schweinfurth (best publication from PhD thesis: Reciprocal Trading of Different Commodities in Norway Rats). They both presented their work as part of the seminar Lecture Series in Ecology and Evolution on November, 20th, 2018. The board of directors congratulates them for their success and whishes them all the best for their upcoming scientific career.

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.

IEE 10.12.18 09.10.18 15.03.18 20.08.18 17.08.18 30.04.18 24.05.18 16.08.18 09.05.18 07.05.18 MsC student Sakshi Sharda receives two rewards We congratulate Sakshi Sharda for receiving two prestigious rewards: the Faculty award 2017 for the best Master Thesis in Biology (Title: “Predator cues elicit maternal effects on egg quality, offspring growth gene expression and anti-predator behaviours in a cooperatively breeding cichlid) and the award for the Best Talk at the Biology18 conference in Neuchatel. Barbara Taborsky 19.03.18 26.01.18 16.02.18 08.02.18 15.01.18 07.11.17 27.10.17 22.09.17 21.08.17 08.08.17 22.05.17 16.03.17 13.02.17 02.02.17 09.02.17 09.02.17 06.02.17 06.02.17 06.01.17 03.12.16 20.12.16 28.11.16 28.10.16 30.09.16 New professor of evolutionary biology Prof Dr Catherine (Katie) Peichel started as a new professor of evolutionary biology at the Institute of Ecology & Evolution on August 1st. Katie is a geneticist with interests in the genetic and genomic changes that underlie phenotypic evolution, including adaptation, sex chromosome evolution, behaviour and speciation. Before joining the IEE, Katie led a research group at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle for many years, and she was an affiliate professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Washington. In Bern Katie will continue this line of research. She is the successor of Heinz Richner who retired last year. Ramka dlya documenta v ukrainskom stiles. Welcome Katie!

IEE 02.08.16 29.03.16 14.03.16 01.03.16 03.02.16 26.01.16 05.12.15.