Linnaeus University Centre for Ecology and Evolution in Microbial model Systems (EEMiS)
EEMiS is a centre for research excellence studying ecological and evolutionary interactions from land to sea. With research expertise covering the entire Baltic Sea food chain from the smallest microorganisms to fish and birds, EEMiS forms Linnaeus University's largest research centre.
Our research
The Baltic Sea is a vulnerable environment which is strongly affected by human activities in the surrounding countries.
Even if the researchers focus on a specific aquatic system, it is basically not very different from other aquatic ecosystems. The processes behind the interaction between organisms and the large-scale consequences they may have on an ecosystem's function are roughly the same. By studying the Baltic Sea, the researchers arer able to contribute with results and knowledge of global significance.
Research for a healthier sea
The Baltic Sea is a vulnerable environment which is strongly affected by human activities in the surrounding countries. The Swedish government has also designated the Baltic Sea as an ecosystem of special societal significance.
We live in an ever-changing world and all organisms, including human beings, are affected when the habitat changes. Some changes in the environment are natural and predictable, such as seasonal variations in weather conditions.
However, ecosystems are also affected by human activity in the form of eutrophication caused by over-fertilization, overfishing, or the emission of greenhouse gases which contributes to global warming. The effect of human actions becomes more acute as a result of the population growth and increasing urbanisation. This may have serious ramifications for – among other things – biological diversity and the distribution of organisms and genetic variation. In turn, this will eventually have negative consequences for the health of both people and animals as well as for food production.
In order to understand the effects of these environmental impacts, we need more knowledge about the very smallest organisms. Microorganisms interact with all living creatures, from microscopic algae to humans. For example, phytoplankton is important for the stock of animals and plants in our seas as they produce carbon and nitrogen which are indispensable for marine ecosystems. But certain types of phytoplankton, such as cyanobacteria, also produce toxins which – in combination with eutrophication – can harm marine life and eventually humans.
Microbial model Systems
By concentrating their efforts and using microbial systems in their research work, the researchers at EEMiS will be able to exploit an almost vacant niche in the research community and contribute with important new insights.
Traditionally, evolutionary ecology research has focused on the larger, conspicuous animals and plants with spectacular shapes, colours, habits and behaviour.
In our research we study microorganisms, which are very suitable for experimental research, even if they at first may appear rather inconspicuous. Their smallness, rapid growth and short generation time means that both complicated and slow processes can be studied in a small space and a short time. Despite this, they have rarely been used when trying to solve general ecological and evolutionary questions.
Furthermore, ecology, evolutionary ecology and microbial ecology are by tradition regarded as different disciplines, which has previously made multidisciplinary research much more difficult.
Research groups
At Linnaeus University Centre for Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems (EEMiS) seven research groups investigates how microorganisms interact with each other and with other organisms in their environment.
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Marine microbiology The research group Marine microbiology carries out research on the biodiversity, ecology, physiology, genomics and genetics of marine bacteria.
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Systems Biology of Microorganisms Systems biology is the study of the interactions between the components of biological systems
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Evolutionary Ecology The overriding aim of evolutionary ecology research is to enhance our knowledge and understanding of the dynamics of genetic, functional, ecological and evolutionary mechanisms…
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Fish Ecology Baltic coastal populations of predatory fish, mainly perch and pike, has been greatly reduced in recent decades. Underlying causes can be altered food webs, competition and disrupted…
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Marine phytoplankton ecology and applications (MPEA) Our research team works within the complex and fascinating world of phytoplankton, and studies the role of bio- and chemical interactions among…
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Zoonotic Ecology and Epidemiology We work with all aspects of zoonotic infections, from collection of samples and screening programs to detailed genetic and molecular characterization. The aim is to…
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Food Web Ecology We carry out research in aquatic ecology studying food web transfer of micronutrients as well as adaptations among organisms to climate change and exposure to ultraviolet radiation.…
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Ecochange: Ecosystem dynamics in the Baltic Sea in a changing climate perspective Ecochange is a research programme, which intends to estimate and predict the climate change responses of the Baltic…
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Linnaeus Microbial Observatory (LMO) The Linnaeus Microbial Observatory (LMO) is a time-series station in the Baltic Sea Proper and the core of many research projects in microbial oceanography at…
Research projects
Ongoing projects
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Doctoral project: Evolutionary ecology of the Baltic Sea The aim of this project is to investigate the effect that the temperature and hence climate change have on different organisms. For that,…
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Doctoral project: Microbial ecology of Baltic Sea sediments exposed to 50 years of warming This project will study the microbiology of Baltic Sea sediments that have been exposed to 50 years of…
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Doctoral project: Mixotrophic cultivation of microalgae for nutrient and CO2 recovery from waste streams Microalgae can efficiently recover nutrient and CO2 from industrial waste streams. Mixotrophic…
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Project: Algoland – Cleaning the water The Algoland project finds sustainable solutions to societal challenges. With Linnaeus University at its core, Algoland encompasses a community of knowledge from…
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Project: Algoland – Mussel farming and sustainable feed from algae and mussels The Algoland project "Mussel farming and sustainable feed from algae and mussels" finds sustainable solutions to societal…
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Project: Arctic expedition - Synoptic Arctic Survey-SAS Oden 2021 The expedition Synoptic Arctic Survey will take place onboard the Swedish Icebreaker Oden during August-September 2021. The expedition…
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Project: Baltic Sea Motus network The Motus Wildlife Tracking System is an international collaborative network of researchers that use automated radio telemetry to track migratory animals. The Motus…
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Project: Cascading effects of drought on farming/grazing and farmland biodiversity The impacts of drought and grazing on farmland biodiversity and productivity have seldom been studied in semi-natural…
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Project: Catch-and-release fishing - an invisible threat to aquatic ecosystems? Our aim for this project is to provide novel insights regarding long-term effects of catch-and-release fishing on…
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Project: Consequences of climate change in a Baltic Sea bay exposed to 50 years of warming Today, there is little knowledge of the consequences of global warming on Baltic Sea ecosystems and aquatic…
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Project: Constraining past variations in the global biogeochemical silica cycle Silica biomineralization in the oceans has affected evolutionary competition for dissolved Si, and this has resulted in…
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Project: Exploring the controls of picophytoplankton in the Arctic Ocean Tiny picophytoplankton are important organisms at the base of the Arctic Ocean marine food web. The rapidly changing Arctic…
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Project: Impacts of fishways and dispersal barriers on evolution, population dynamics and viability of spawning-migrating fish Many rivers and streams globally and in Sweden have been modified by dams…
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Project: Kalmarsund Station (K-station) The Kalmarsund Station (K-station) is a coastal sampling station that is used to study the ecology and seasonal dynamics of phytoplankton in the Baltic Sea. The…
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Project: Meet the fish! In the project “Meet the fish!” the Fish Migration Group collaborates with Kalmar municipality to promote the research on fish ecology in Kalmar. We execute a study where we…
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Project: Migratory connectivity of Pallas’s Fish Eagle populations in Asia The Pallas’s Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus) is a globally threatened species that occurs in wetlands in parts of…
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Project: Multi-Use Offshore Platform This project examines the feasibility of developing a pilot-scale multi-use offshore platform (MUOP) at the wind farm nearshore Kårehamn in the Baltic Sea.
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Project: Nutrient uptake by picoplankton in the Arctic Ocean Picoplankton are the smallest photosynthetic organisms in the Arctic Ocean and the base of the food web. To understand how they will be…
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Project: Picocyanobacteria, significant primary producers but largely overlooked players in coastal waters Tiny single-celled photosynthetic bacteria, picocyanobacteria, contribute significantly to…
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Project: Syntrophy and symbiosis as mechanisms for growth and survival in deep terrestrial biosphere fracture systems Despite being separated from the sun’s energy, life exists deep underground in…
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Project: Unravelling biodiversity and zooplankton feeding preferences in one of the last blind spots of the Arctic Ocean The food webs of many parts of the Arctic Ocean are not well characterized.…
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Project: Will the microbial filter prevent methane emissions from Baltic Sea coasts in a warmer future? In a warmer future, there will be more methane production in sediments in coastal areas.…
News
- Marcelo is on expedition in the Atlantic Ocean to study methane gas in the ocean floor News
- Watch the film about the expedition to Arctic with Linnaeus University's researchers News
- The Baltic Sea’s potential greenhouse gas emissions and ecosystem studied in two new research projects News
- Increased amount of methane gas expected to be released from seafloor as oceans get warmer due to climate change News
Researchers
EEMiS consists of around sixty co-workers. These include students, PhD students, specialist and laboratory technician, communication officer, postdocs and principal investigators.
Steering group
- Hanna Farnelid Senior lecturer
- +46 480-44 62 96
- hannafarnelidlnuse
- Mark Dopson Professor
- +46 480-44 73 34
- markdopsonlnuse
- Anders Forsman Professor
- +46 480-44 61 73
- andersforsmanlnuse
- Karin Holmfeldt Associate professor
- +46 480-44 73 10
- karinholmfeldtlnuse
- Petter Tibblin associate professor
- +46 480-44 67 45
- +46 72-594 95 63
- pettertibblinlnuse
Research leaders
- Jarone Pinhassi Professor
- +46 480-44 62 12
- +46 72-594 94 48
- jaronepinhassilnuse
- Mark Dopson Professor
- +46 480-44 73 34
- markdopsonlnuse
- Anders Forsman Professor
- +46 480-44 61 73
- andersforsmanlnuse
- Per Larsson Professor visiting
- perlarssonlnuse
- Catherine Legrand Professor
- +46 480-44 73 09
- +46 70-438 06 18
- catherinelegrandlnuse
- Jonas Waldenström Professor, Head of Department
- +46 480-44 61 95
- jonaswaldenstromlnuse
- Samuel Hylander Associate professor
- +46 480-44 73 15
- samuelhylanderlnuse
- Karin Holmfeldt Associate professor
- +46 480-44 73 10
- karinholmfeldtlnuse
- Elin Lindehoff Associate Professor
- +46 480-44 73 59
- elinlindehofflnuse
- Hanna Farnelid Senior lecturer
- +46 480-44 62 96
- hannafarnelidlnuse
- Markus Franzén Senior lecturer
- +46 480-44 62 97
- markusfranzenlnuse
- Markus Zöttl Associate senior lecturer
- +46 480-44 61 12
- markuszottllnuse
- Petter Tibblin associate professor
- +46 480-44 67 45
- +46 72-594 95 63
- pettertibblinlnuse
Staff
- Åke Hagström professor emeritus
- akehagstromlnuse
- Anabella Aguilera Researcher (Post doctoral fellow)
- +46 480-44 62 26
- anabellaaguileralnuse
- Anders Forsman Professor
- +46 480-44 61 73
- andersforsmanlnuse
- Anders Johnson Doctoral student
- +46 480-44 63 28
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- Andreas Svensson Associate Professor
- +46 480-44 73 19
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- Camilla Karlsson Research engineer
- +46 480-44 63 27
- camillaakarlssonlnuse
- Carl Tamario Research assistant
- +46 480-44 60 88
- carltamariolnuse
- Carolin Peter Doctoral student
- +46 480-44 67 39
- carolinpeterlnuse
- Caroline Littlefield Karlsson Project assistent
- +46 480-44 73 25
- carolinelittlefieldkarlssonlnuse
- Catherine Legrand Professor
- +46 480-44 73 09
- +46 70-438 06 18
- catherinelegrandlnuse
- Christien Laber
- christienlaberlnuse
- Clara Pérez Martínez Research assistant
- +46 480-44 63 67
- claraperezmartinezlnuse
- Conny Tolf Laboratory engineer
- +46 480-44 60 77
- +46 72-594 97 98
- connytolflnuse
- Daniel Lundin Researcher
- daniellundinlnuse
- Daniela Polic
- danielapoliclnuse
- Daniela Rios Doctoral student
- +46 480-44 62 13
- danielarioslnuse
- Danilo Di Leo Doctoral student
- danilodileolnuse
- Dennis Amnebrink Project assistent
- dennisamnebrinklnuse
- Domenico Simone Postdoctoral Fellow
- domenicosimonelnuse
- Elin Lindehoff Associate Professor
- +46 480-44 73 59
- elinlindehofflnuse
- Emelie Nilsson Postdoctoral Fellow
- +46 480-44 73 27
- emelienilssonlnuse
- Emil Fridolfsson
- emilfridolfssonlnuse
- Eva Pohl Lecturer
- +46 480-44 67 20
- evapohllnuse
- Evangelia Charalampous Researcher (Post doctoral fellow)
- +46 480-44 63 97
- evangeliacharalampouslnuse
- Fredrik Svensson Laboratory engineer
- +46 480-44 73 44
- fredriksvenssonlnuse
- George Westmeijer Doctoral student
- +46 480-44 63 41
- georgewestmeijerlnuse
- Hanna Bensch Doctoral student
- +46 480-44 62 92
- hannabenschlnuse
- Hanna Berggren Postdoctoral Fellow
- hannaberggrenlnuse
- Hanna Farnelid Senior lecturer
- +46 480-44 62 96
- hannafarnelidlnuse
- Henrik Flink Doctoral student
- +46 480-44 63 54
- henrikflinklnuse
- Ida Krogsgaard Svendsen Doctoral student
- +46 480-44 61 70
- +46 70-208 60 18
- idakrogsgaardsvendsenlnuse
- Iryna Rula Project assistent
- irynarulalnuse
- Janina Rahlff
- +46 480-44 62 77
- +46 70-205 33 28
- janinarahlfflnuse
- Jarone Pinhassi Professor
- +46 480-44 62 12
- +46 72-594 94 48
- jaronepinhassilnuse
- Javier Alegria
- +46 480-44 63 20
- javieralegrialnuse
- Jenny Olofsson Laboratory engineer
- +46 480-44 73 99
- jennyolofssonlnuse
- Johanna Sunde Researcher
- +46 480-44 67 43
- johannasundelnuse
- Jonas Waldenström Professor, Head of Department
- +46 480-44 61 95
- jonaswaldenstromlnuse
- Julia Weissenbach
- +46 480-49 70 05
- juliaweissenbachlnuse
- Karin Holmfeldt Associate professor
- +46 480-44 73 10
- karinholmfeldtlnuse
- Kristofer Bergström Project assistent
- +46 480-44 73 70
- +46 72-594 96 40
- kristoferbergstromlnuse
- Laura Bas Conn Laboratory engineer
- laurabasconnlnuse
- Laura Seidel Project assistent
- +46 480-44 63 73
- lauraseidellnuse
- Magnus Ståhle Laboratory engineer
- +46 480-44 62 39
- magnusstahlelnuse
- Marc Hauber Doctoral student
- +46 480-44 67 42
- +46 70-230 36 75
- marchauberlnuse
- Marcus Hall Doctoral student
- marcushalllnuse
- Maria Lundgren Doctoral student
- +46 480-44 62 28
- marialundgrenlnuse
- Marie-Jose Gaillard-Lemdahl Professor Emeritus
- marie-josegaillard-lemdahllnuse
- Mariëlle van Toor Researcher
- +46 480-44 63 94
- mariellevantoorlnuse
- Mark Dopson Professor
- +46 480-44 73 34
- markdopsonlnuse
- Markus Franzén Senior lecturer
- +46 480-44 62 97
- markusfranzenlnuse
- Markus Zöttl Associate senior lecturer
- +46 480-44 61 12
- markuszottllnuse
- Maryam Rezaei Somee
- maryamrezaeisomeelnuse
- Mats Åström Professor
- +46 480-44 73 42
- +46 72-594 96 35
- matsastromlnuse
- Nathan Van Wyk Doctoral student
- +46 480-44 63 84
- nathanvanwyklnuse
- Neus Latorre Margalef
- neuslatorrelnuse
- Oscar Nordahl Researcher
- +46 480-44 63 56
- oscarnordahllnuse
- Per Koch-Schmidt Laboratory engineer
- +46 480-44 61 71
- +46 72-594 97 94
- perkoch-schmidtlnuse
- Per Larsson Professor visiting
- perlarssonlnuse
- Petter Tibblin associate professor
- +46 480-44 67 45
- +46 72-594 95 63
- pettertibblinlnuse
- Romana Salis Postdoctoral Fellow
- romanasalislnuse
- Sabina Arnautovic Laboratory engineer
- +46 480-44 62 63
- sabinaarnautoviclnuse
- Samuel Hylander Associate professor
- +46 480-44 73 15
- samuelhylanderlnuse
- Sigitas Šulčius Postdoctoral fellow
- sigitassulciuslnuse
- Songjun Li Doctoral student
- +46 480-49 70 15
- +46 70-211 63 08
- songjunlilnuse
- Thi Quyen Nham Doctoral student
- quyennhamlnuse
- Thomas Mollica Doctoral student
- thomasmollicalnuse
- Vittoria Todisco Doctoral student
- vittoriatodiscolnuse
- Yannick Francioli
- yannickfranciolilnuse
- Yelena Churakova Doctoral student
- yelenachurakovalnuse