Research

  • Alexandra and Elisabeth examine a fruit sample for beckoning nematodes waiting for an insect "taxi" to take them to a fresh fruit

    Insect "taxi"

    Alexandra and Elisabeth examine a fruit sample for beckoning nematodes waiting for an insect "taxi" to take them to a fresh fruit.

  • High replication

    We use easy-to-manipulate microcosms that enable complex and highly replicated experiments.

  • Mini-ecosystem. Drosophila-microbe interactions comprise complex reciprocal adaptations and “chemical warfare"

    Mini-ecosystem

    Drosophila-microbe interactions comprise complex reciprocal adaptations and “chemical warfare”.

  • Flies have worms. Panagrellus nematode worms are vectored by Drosophila fruit flies and colonise the insect egg-laying sites. But do the insects care about worms?

    Flies have worms

    Panagrellus nematode worms are vectored by Drosophila fruit flies and colonise the insect egg-laying sites. But do the insects care about worms?

How insects and microbes interact for their ecological and evolutionary success

Excluding microorganisms - bacteria and fungi - from animal ecology leaves out a fascinating diversity of species interactions that are crucial to the evolution of animals life-history strategies, behaviour, sociality and the ability to adapt to a changing environment. We are interested in better understanding the “microbial dimension” of insect ecology and evolution. In particular, our group focusses on the following topics:

Our main ecological models are Drosophila fruit flies and their associated bacterial and fungal communities.