These studies have contributed to the current understanding of the structure and function of the Baltic Sea ecosystem and its unique characteristics, caused by e.g. its topography, brackish salinity conditions, and human-induced changes, such as eutrophication, global warming and ocean acidification.
Evolutionary and population biology are also important topics. These subject areas encompass the social, sexual, and genetic structure of colony-forming insects, sexual selection and reproductive biology in fish and birds, and the dispersion and reproduction of insects and rock-pool organisms in fragmented landscapes (metapopulation biology).