Welcome to the evolutionary demography group within the Institute of Biology, at the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.

We are interested how population dynamics are driven by simple demographic events, the reproduction and survival of individuals. How has heterogeneity among individuals evolved, and how are evolutionary and ecological processes driven by demographic events? Is heterogeneity neutral (stochastic) or adaptive and how it is maintained? We achieve this by advancing demographic methods and theories in stage- and age-structured populations rooted in Markov chain theories, and by testing these models using a simple microfluidic device on bacteria and longitudinal studies in the wild. Further, we investigate the evolution of phenotypic plasticity and compare changes in perceived (biological) age to those of chronological (actual) age to understand aging in humans.