Here is an overview of the different areas of research in the Institute of Biology
The research area Environmental Stress covers investigation of the damage certain chemicals (e.g. hormone-disturbing chemicals, heavy metals and pesticides) cause to various organisms and of the adaptations of organisms to naturally-occurring stress factors such as variation in oxygen content, salinity, or temperature. The interaction between natural and artificial stress factors is also investigated.
The research area Sound Communication and Behaviour covers the relationship between an animal's behavior and the function of its sensory organs and related pieces of nervous system. Of particular interest are biosonar and the physiological mechanisms behind hearing and sound production in a variety of different animal groups including mammals, birds, frogs and insects.
Life in the ocean and fresh waters are studied within Ecology. The research spans from bacteria to animals and plants and covers both the individual organism's anatomy and physiology and its ecological role in aquatic nutrient and energy cycles. A detailed understanding of the function and productivity of the ecosystem is developed along with an indication of its vulnerability to man-made and natural changes. A special focus on microbial ecology grounds an investigation of early life on earth.
Research at NordCEE spans the range from microbial ecology, molecular biology, biogeochemistry, microbial physiology to geobiology. We are concerned with the role of micro-organisms in controlling the cycling of elements on the modern Earth and how this role has changed through geologic time. We work in diverse environments ranging from lakes to the oceans and in geologic formations of all ages.
The Max-Planck Odense Center on the Evolutionary Biodemography of Aging has a coherent focus on research to discover the basic causes and key consequences of age trajectories of health and longer lives. The focus is unitary, but the research is highly interdisciplinary. The scientists working at the Center are drawn from demography, evolutionary biology, epidemiology, mathematics and statistics.