Abteilung Aquatische Ökologie

Aquatische Ökologie

Die Abteilung Aquatische Ökologie der Eawag besteht aus acht Forschungsgruppen und umfasst eine Vielzahl von verschiedenen Disziplinen der Ökologie und Evolutionsbiologie, wobei die gesamte Bandbreite vom individuellen Level über Vergesellschaftungen bis hin zu Ökosystemen abgedeckt wird. Erfahren Sie mehr

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Aquatische Insekten sind seltener invasiv

Die Asiatische Tigermücke (Aedes albopictus) ist eine der wenigen im Wasser lebenden Insektenarten, die in mehrere Kontinente eingeschleppt wurden und dort invasiv sind. Foto: James Gathany, CDC
23. September 2022 –

Bei Insekten, die ganz oder teilweise im Süsswasser leben, ist der Anteil invasiver Arten wesentlich kleiner als bei Insekten, die an Land leben. Dies zeigt eine Studie der Eidg. Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft...

Bei Insekten, die ganz oder teilweise im Süsswasser leben, ist der Anteil invasiver Arten wesentlich kleiner als bei Insekten, die an Land leben. Dies zeigt eine Studie der Eidg. Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft WSL in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Wasserforschungsinstitut Eawag und einem internationalen Forscherteam.
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Aquascope

Echtzeit-Unterwasseraufnahmen für das Phytoplankton- und Zooplankton-Monitoring am See (Englisch)

Publikationen

Packman, A. I., Robinson, C. T., & Lamouroux, N. (2021). Hydraulic drivers of populations, communities and ecosystem processes. Journal of Ecohydraulics, 6(2), 91-94. doi:10.1080/24705357.2021.1951506, Institutional Repository
Nickel, J., Schell, T., Holtzem, T., Thielsch, A., Dennis, S. R., Schlick-Steiner, B. C., … Cordellier, M. (2021). Hybridization dynamics and extensive introgression in the Daphnia longispina species complex: new insights from a high-quality Daphnia galeata reference genome. Genome Biology and Evolution, 13(12), evab267 (23 pp.). doi:10.1093/gbe/evab267, Institutional Repository

Hybridization and introgression are recognized as an important source of variation that influence adaptive processes; both phenomena are frequent in the genus Daphnia, a keystone zooplankton taxon in freshwater ecosystems that comprises several species complexes. To investigate genome-wide consequences of introgression between species, we provide here the first high-quality genome assembly for a member of the Daphnia longispina species complex, Daphnia galeata. We further resequenced 49 whole genomes of three species of the complex and their interspecific hybrids both from genotypes sampled in the water column and from single resting eggs extracted from sediment cores. Populations from habitats with diverse ecological conditions offered an opportunity to study the dynamics of hybridization linked to ecological changes and revealed a high prevalence of hybrids. Using phylogenetic and population genomic approaches, we provide first insights into the intra- and interspecific genome-wide variability in this species complex and identify regions of high divergence. Finally, we assess the length of ancestry tracts in hybrids to characterize introgression patterns across the genome. Our analyses uncover a complex history of hybridization and introgression reflecting multiple generations of hybridization and backcrossing in the Daphnia longispina species complex. Overall, this study and the new resources presented here pave the way for a better understanding of ancient and contemporary gene flow in the species complex and facilitate future studies on resting egg banks accumulating in lake sediment.
Briscoe, A. G., Nichols, S., Hartikainen, H., Knipe, H., Foster, R., Green, A. J., … Bass, D. (2021). High-throughput sequencing of faeces provides evidence for dispersal of parasites and pathogens by migratory waterbirds. Molecular Ecology Resources, 22(4), 1303-1318. doi:10.1111/1755-0998.13548, Institutional Repository

Examination of faecal material has demonstrated how a broad range of organisms are distributed by bird movements. Such research has largely focused on dispersal of plant seeds by frugivores and of freshwater organisms by waterbirds. However, with few exceptions (e.g. avian influenza, Ebola virus), there is a dearth of evidence for transport of parasites and pathogens. High-throughput sequencing methods now provide a powerful means of addressing this knowledge gap by elucidating faecal contents in unprecedented detail. We collected faeces excreted by a range of migratory waterbirds in south-west Spain and pooled faecal DNA to create libraries reflective of feeding behavior. We created sets of libraries using high-throughput metagenomic and amplicon sequencing. For the latter we employed two sets of primers to broadly target the V4 region of the 18S rRNA gene (one set amplifying the region across all eukaryotes, the other excluding amplification of metazoans). Libraries revealed a wide diversity of eukaryotes, including parasites of the faecal producers themselves, parasites of food items, or those incidentally ingested. We also detected novel microbial eukaryotic taxa and found that parasite assemblage profiles were relatively distinct. Comparing the performance of the methods used supports their joint use for future studies of diversity and abundance. Because viable stages of many parasites are likely to be present in faeces, our results suggest significant levels of bird-mediated dispersal of parasites (both from avian and other hosts). Our methods revealed much hidden biodiversity, and allowed identification of the individuals who produced the faecal samples to species level, facilitating the study of interaction networks.

SNSF Fellowships Ambizione / Eccellenza / Prima

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Forschungsprojekte

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Das Asellus Dreieck: der Wirt, das Mikrobiom und der globale Wandel
Funktionelle Charakterisierung von Isopoden-Mikroben-Symbiosen

Defensive Actinobakterien in Süsswasser- und terrestrischen Isopoden
Die Architektur von Artgemeinschaften und trophischen Netzwerke in blau-grünen Ökosystemen

Architektur von blau-grünen Gemeinschaften
New tools to monitor changes in ecosystem conditions and to quantify genetic changes of populations in (semi-)natural environments to predict how human mediated environmental change will influence stability and resilience of ecosystems.

Stability and the eco-evolutionary dynamics of ecosystems

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