Department of Chemical Ecology

The de­part­ment in­vest­ig­ates the chemical dialogues occurring in the ocean, where communication within and between species relies heavily on chemical signals that strongly regulate the behaviour of organisms ranging from bacteria to whales. These chemicals determine foraging strategies, selection of mates and habitats, feeding choices, symbioses, competition, transfer of nutrients and energy within and between ecosystems. Although crucial for understanding marine systems, the identity, diversity and impact of most chemical signals are still poorly understood, and this is especially true for the chemicals impacting the ecology of microbes.

Importantly, at the micrometer scale at which microbial cells live, some of the physical forces are drastically different from those we experience at the human scale. For example, the prevalence of molecular diffusion over other transport mechanisms at the scale of marine microbes implies that sharp and sometimes long-lasting chemical gradients can surround cells or particles. These gradients participate in the signaling taking place between microbes, and spatially structure their environment. The department works at this scale, which requires the development and use of dedicated sampling and analysis techniques.

By bridging the gap between microbiology and marine chemistry through direct in situ observations, our research aims to quantify the effects of the chemical dialogues that underpin important microbial interactions and to integrate their contributions to assess ecosystem impacts.