InChangE
About us
Individualisation has increasingly become the focus of research in recent times as its effects become more visible and its origins can be better investigated. Based on an integrative understanding of individualisation from different disciplines, we define individualisation as follows:
Individualisation is the process that leads to individual differences.
A good 15 years ago, we initially achieved a deeper understanding of the causes of individual phenotypic plasticity in animals in a research group (FOR 1232, 2009 - 2016). We showed how much individual animals differ in their behaviour and personality. We recognised that these differences lead to individualised ecological niches.
Therefore, we established a Collaborative Research Centre (SFB TRR 212, funded since 2018). We started with a novel synthesis of individualisation in the fields of ecology, evolution and behaviour and redefined the niche concept at the individual level, involving biology and Philosophy.
Next, we began to look for both general patterns and species-specific drivers of individualisation across the animal kingdom and in humans. As part of the MKW-NRW funded research project InChangE (2021-2025), we have started to investigate the function and consequences of individualisation in a changing environment in an interdisciplinary way. InChangE is also part of the Joint Institute for Individualisation in a Changing Environment (JICE). Other initiatives linked to InChangE are linked here.
The InChangE focus area will enable researchers from different initiatives and fields of research to join forces and investigate individualisation in response to a mixture of physical, biological and social stimuli. This will strengthen the links between the natural sciences, humanities and social sciences and provide fertile ground for new collaborations.