In the Department of Chemical Ecology, the role of natural products that are involved in communication between individuals of the same or different species is investigated. These natural products can be involved in interactions between plants, herbivorous insects and their antagonists ( predators, parasitoids) as well as in interactions with symbiotic partners such as pollinators and fungi. Within a species, these natural products can differ pronouncedly and interaction partners can respond individually to such variation. We are particularly interested in how factors of global change influence the properties of plants, insects and their interactions. In this context, various chemical-analytical methods are used and development, physiology and behaviour in ecological and evolutionary contexts are investigated. 

The candidate will investigate the individual differences in the composition of specialised metabolites of plants (chemodiversity) and their impacts on interacting organ...