Bio-, zoo- and ecosemiotics are concerned with signs and meanings (mediated relationships) in nature at different levels, from the organism’s physiology to the ecosystem, with the communication of animals, and with meaning relations between culture and the environment.

The theoretical and methodological foundations are Jakob von Uexküll’s Umwelt theory, based on the notion that each animal (including humans) perceives the world from its own perspective. Points of departure are also description of pre-linguistic sign types, the modelling of meaning relations, and the understanding of the interconnectedness of different levels of meaning. Specifically, the research group will address the theoretical foundations of biosemiotics, the study of cross-species aesthetics, sign relations in ecosystems and communities, and the study of interspecies communication, including both the animals’ Umwelts and the human local knowledge of the environment. It will also explore the semiotic aspects of species extinction and environmental conflicts, the role of culture in the climate crisis, representations of nature in literature, and sign relations in multi-species urban environments.

The team has been involved in research on the reintroduction of the European mink to Estonian islands, and has promoted nature-based solutions in the Tartu Ülejõe area. The importance of the bio-, zoo- and ecosemiotic research area lies in its ability to study cultural and natural signs together, to offer ways of reconnecting these and thereby develop deep solutions to the environmental crises.