The mission of The Department of Theoretical Ecology is to advance knowledge and understanding in the fields of evolutionary ecology (especially evolution of life history strategies), population dynamics (particularly prey-predator and plant-pollinator systems), and stability of ecological communities by theoretical, experimental, and field research, and to transfer that knowledge through teaching and publication. The results of this research find their applications in biodiversity and nature protection and in biological control. At present, the main model groups studied include terrestrial orchids, aphids and aphidophagous insects.