Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate

What Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate does

The Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate (CMEC) is a university research center hosted within the Globe Institute at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, founded in 2010. CMEC conducts research in macroecology, evolutionary biology, and climate change impacts on biodiversity, with core technical capabilities in process-explicit ecological modeling, species distribution modeling, phylogenetic analysis, and geospatial analytics. The center produces proprietary research resources including the Global Database on Bird Species Elevational Distribution (covering 10,000+ species assembled from 600+ sources), the iMapGenes global genetic diversity map (built from 92,801 mitochondrial sequences), the Global Avian Distributional Database, CMEC Zoogeographic Realms, the Mountain Regions of the World Database, and the BioGeoSim biogeography simulation software. CMEC is led by Center Director Professor Carsten Rahbek and Center Leader Professor Katherine Richardson, who is a core developer of the Planetary Boundaries framework, and publishes in high-impact peer-reviewed journals including Science, Nature, Nature Communications, Science Advances, and PNAS.

CMEC operates a parallel education and outreach function focused on Danish schools, delivering programs such as 'A Greener Climate' (Et grønnere klima) for lower secondary schools, 'Biodiversity in High Schools,' 'Earth System Science' for 5th-6th grade students, 'Grobund' for agricultural schools, 'Through the Eyes of the Researcher,' and 'Science Talents' biodiversity camps. These programs are distributed free of charge through direct relationships with Danish teacher associations (Biologiforbundet, Danmarks Naturfagslærerforening, Geografforbundet), the Green School network, the Danish Ministry of Education platform (emu.dk), and university partners including the University of Southern Denmark. CMEC does not sell commercial products and provides educational materials at no cost.

CMEC's funding model is non-commercial: it operates as a public university entity with revenue derived from University of Copenhagen institutional support, foundation grants (Villum Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, LEO Foundation), and Danish/international government research funding. The center serves three primary constituent groups: (1) the global scientific research community via publications and open-access databases; (2) Danish primary, secondary, and high school students and teachers via curriculum materials and training; and (3) policymakers and conservation planners via frameworks like Planetary Boundaries.

Name

Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate

Legal name

Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate (CMEC), Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen

Website

https://macroecology.ku.dk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate (CMEC) is a University of Copenhagen research center that produces biodiversity databases, biogeographic models, and peer-reviewed research, while delivering free science education programs and teaching materials to Danish schools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Research Services

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), Administration of Conservation Programs (92412)

akta.pro primary industry

Nature & Biodiversity Reporting (TNFD, natural capital) (EUAHAJAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Emissions Factors, LCA & Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) Platforms (EUABAEAD)

Keywords

• Macroecology research
• Biodiversity databases
• Species distribution modeling
• Phylogenetic analysis
• Science education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Copenhagen

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate (CMEC) is a university research center that conducts scientific research in macroecology, biodiversity, evolution, and climate change. It delivers its outputs as openly accessible biodiversity databases (bird distributions, genetic diversity maps, zoogeographic regions), research software (BioGeoSim), peer-reviewed scientific publications, and free research-based educational programs and teaching materials for Danish primary, secondary, and high schools.

Product overview

The Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate (CMEC) is a university research center that does not operate commercial products but rather produces research databases, educational programs, and scientific resources. Its portfolio consists of: (1) Global biodiversity databases including bird species elevational distributions, avian distributional data, and genetic diversity maps (iMapGenes); (2) Research software tools such as BioGeoSim for biogeographic simulation; (3) Educational programs including A Greener Climate for secondary schools and Biodiversity in High Schools, both developed with partner universities and supported by foundations like Villum and Novo Nordisk; and (4) Scientific publications and teaching materials like the Manifesto for a New Science Education. These resources serve researchers, educators, and students rather than commercial customers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Villum Center for Global Mountain Biodiversity: A center focused on global mountain biodiversity research, part of CMEC
• An Even Greener Climate (Et endnu grønnere klima)
• A Greener Climate (Et grønnere klima)
• Biodiversity in High Schools
• Manifesto for a New Science Education
• Earth System Science (Jordsystemvidenskab)
• Through the Eyes of the Researcher (Med forskerens øjne)
• Grobund
• Science Talents
• The ABC of Science
• What Nature? (Hvilken natur?)

Products and services

• Global Database on Bird Species Elevational Distribution Comprehensive database containing minimum and maximum elevational range information for more than 10,000 bird species' breeding distributions in meters above sea level, assembled from 600+ primary sources including museum specimens, expedition reports, research papers, and field observations. Made freely available for research purposes.
• iMapGenes: Anthropocene Map of Genetic Diversity Global map of genetic diversity for amphibians and terrestrial mammals, created by analyzing 92,801 mitochondrial sequences from GenBank and BOLD Systems repositories, using nucleotide diversity as the metric.
• Global Avian Distributional Database Distributional data for more than 10,000 species of birds mapped at a 1° × 1° latitude-longitude grid cell resolution.
• CMEC Zoogeographic Realms and Regions Data descriptions and maps for global zoogeographic regions.
• Mountain Regions of the World Database Map of mountain regions of the world accompanying publications on global mountain biodiversity.
• BioGeoSim Biogeography Software Biogeography software that simulates the stochastic origin and spread of species geographic ranges in heterogeneous landscapes, used by ecologists for biogeographic research.
• A Greener Climate (Et grønnere klima) Educational Program Interdisciplinary program for lower secondary schools focused on nature-based climate solutions, with activities based on students' own investigations of local natural environments. Developed with the University of Southern Denmark and teacher associations, supported by the Villum Foundation.
• Biodiversity in High Schools (Biodiversitet i gymnasiet) Teaching materials and supplementary teacher training for Danish high schools, based on the latest biodiversity research, with students working on real scientific data. Supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 500,000 downloads of the planetary boundaries framework study published in Science Advances
• +3 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• University of Southern DenmarkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on 'A Greener Climate' educational program and 'An Even Greener Climate' initiative, contributing researchers and educators to joint curriculum development.
• Danish Biology Teachers' Association (Biologiforbundet)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional association partner for biodiversity education initiatives, contributing expertise in curriculum development and teacher networks.
• Danish Science Teachers' Association (Danmarks Naturfagslærerforening)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional association partner for science/technology education development and teacher training collaborations.
• Geography Teachers' Association (Geografforbundet)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional association partner for interdisciplinary environmental and geography education initiatives.
• Astra (Danish Science Talent Center)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for science talent development and 'A Greener Climate' program, supporting gifted student education in science.
• Green School (Grøn Skole/Friluftsrådet)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork organization bringing teachers across Denmark into climate and biodiversity education projects, providing teacher engagement infrastructure.
• Association for Danish Biologists (FaDB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on 'Biodiversity in High Schools' project, providing professional development and curriculum support for biology teachers.
• Danish Agricultural Schools (Danske Landbrugsskoler)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in 'Grobund' project developing biodiversity teaching materials for agricultural education to drive green transition in farming sector.
• Science Talents (Science Talenter)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on biodiversity camps for high school students involving fieldwork in Suserup Forest.
• Science Club (Videnskabsklubben)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on Earth System Science program for 5th-6th grade students, bringing research-based activities to youth education.
• VTS DanmarkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerExpert partner for Visual Thinking Strategies methodology in the 'Through the Eyes of the Researcher' project.
• NatureCenter Amager StrandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on science education book development and outdoor learning initiatives for young students.
• Globe Institute, University of CopenhagencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution and primary organizational unit providing administrative infrastructure, facilities, and academic framework.
• Villum Center for Global Mountain BiodiversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelated center at Globe Institute focused on mountain biodiversity research, sharing leadership (Carsten Rahbek as director) and research programs.
• Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on planetary boundaries research with shared author Johan Rockström, integrating Earth system science research.
• Stockholm Resilience CentremajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on planetary boundaries framework visualizations and illustrations for science communication.
• University of CopenhagencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent institution providing institutional support, infrastructure, and academic framework for CMEC operations.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NatureServe: Non-profit that aggregates and curates biodiversity data for conservation decision-making. Comparable to CMEC in producing high-quality species distribution and range datasets used by researchers and policymakers.
• Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology: Conducts evolutionary biology and biodiversity research with strong quantitative and phylogenetic approaches, closely aligned with CMEC's evolutionary macroecology work and process-explicit modeling.
• BirdLife International: Global partnership producing the world's largest bird distribution and conservation datasets. Directly comparable to CMEC's avian distributional and elevational range databases and shares the conservation-biology focus.
• International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA): Austrian-based international research institute conducting systems-level analysis of global environmental change, biodiversity, and sustainability — closely aligned with CMEC's planetary boundaries and macro-scale biodiversity work.
• Stockholm Resilience Centre: Stockholm University research center that collaborates with CMEC on planetary boundaries visualizations and is one of the original homes of the planetary boundaries framework. Directly comparable as a center of excellence in resilience and macro-scale environmental research.
• Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK): German climate-impact research institute that actively co-publishes on the planetary boundaries framework with CMEC leadership (notably Johan Rockström). Highly comparable as a public-funded Earth-system and biodiversity research center with a similar scientific remit.
• National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS): UCSB-based synthesis center for ecological and biodiversity data science. Comparable as a center aggregating global biodiversity datasets and supporting cross-institutional macroecology research.

Broad incumbents

• IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature): Global authority on species conservation status and biodiversity policy, including the Red List. Comparable as a major producer and consumer of biodiversity data and as a node in international conservation-policy networks.
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History: Operates large-scale biodiversity databases, collections, and macroecological research programs. Comparable as a global biodiversity research institution, though much broader in mandate and significantly larger in scale.

Emerging players

• Wildlife Conservation Society: Global conservation NGO that conducts field-based biodiversity and species distribution research. Partial overlap with CMEC's conservation-biology mission, though more applied and less focused on theoretical macroecology.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@CMECUndervisning
• Xx.com/Macroecology
• Facebookfacebook.com/Macroecology
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/macroecology-ucph

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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