Research
Research mainly concentrates on interactions at all levels of organization, within and between cells, among organisms of the same or different species (cooperation, parasitism, pathogenesis), or with the environment (soil, light, diverse stresses). Thus the research conducted at the institute covers a large spectrum of biology, with a focus on certain disciplines in which it has been traditionally strong or which have been promoted more recently:
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Parasitology
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Soil biology
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Interactions among plants, herbivores and beneficial or pathogenic microorganisms
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Chemical ecology
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Animal behaviour
Most of the laboratories are involved in two of the nine centres of competence, key areas of research and innovation defined by the University of Neuchâtel:
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The centre of competence in cognitive sciences assembles two laboratories of the institute of biology, behavioural ecology and comparative cognition, as well as three research groups belonging to the faculty of humanities.
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The centre of competence in chemical ecology originated from the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Plant survival, a big and prestigious research project managed by the University of Neuchâtel between 2001 and 2013. At present, eleven laboratories of the institute of biology and two laboratories of the institute of chemistry participate in the centre of chemical ecology, which is also narrowly associated with the Neuchâtel Platform of Analytical Chemistry (NPAC) located at the institute of chemistry. .
