index.html.en - index.html.en

Research Department for Limnology, Mondsee

Contact

Research Department for Limnology, Mondsee
University of Innsbruck
Mondseestrasse 9
A-5310 Mondsee

Phone: +43 512507 50201
Fax:      +43 512507 50299

E-mail: office

About the Research Department (Imagefilm)

The Research Department for Limnology, Mondsee of the University of Innsbruck (ILIM) conducts research on evolutionary ecology in freshwater systems. Our overall research goal is to understand the evolutionary adaptations of aquatic organisms under the influence of climate change and increasing anthropogenic use. We use aquatic model organisms, reaching from bacteria to fish species, to investigate patterns and processes of general ecological and evolutionary relevance. Our emphasis is on process oriented basic research, but our research results are also used for consulting and in the search for solutions in the management and protection of inland waters. Currently the ILIM staff consists of 25 members (without third party funded staff), of which 8 are scientists. Eight research groups in Mondsee work on the investigation of lake-ecosystems and the evolution of organisms in a changing environment (see research and personnel). Additionally there are students and guest researchers who co-operate in different national and international research projects.

In Mondsee the investigation on the evolutionary ecology of aquatic organisms takes place in various levels: from molecules (genes and proteins) to organisms and populations and ending with communities. The analysis of longterm data (LTER-site) of lake Mondsee and other lakes in various elevations are the basis for a complete ecological view of the Alpine and pre-Alpine lakes.

The initiative of the limnologist Univ. Prof. Dr. Heinz Löffler led to the foundation of the Institute for Limnology by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) in 1970/1971 in Vienna. In 1981 the limnological research community moved to Mondsee, approximately 30km east of the city of Salzburg. In September 2012 the institute was transferred as Research Department for Limnology, Mondsee, to the University of Innsbruck. After finishing the reconstruction the re-opening was celebrated in October 2014. The Institute is member of the Austrian branch of the International Society for Limnology - Societas Internationalis Limnologiae, Austria (SIL-Austria).

We provide training for national and international graduate students and post-doctoral fellows within various research projects. The international training programmes of IPGL were part of the Research Institute for Limnology and the Austrian Academy of Sciences for 37 years. Almost 500 young scientists from about 60 countries have attended these training courses in Mondsee. In October 2012 IPGL has been fully integrated into the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna.