Department Fish Ecology and Evolution

We investigate the mechanisms of speciation and adaptive radiation

We investigate the ecological and genetic basis of adaptation to elevational variation in rivers and depth variation in lakes

We study causes of variation in diversity of fish assemblages and we wish to understand how variation in diversity affects the lake ecosystems

We work to combat what we consider the largest stumbling block on the way to successful biodiversity management and conservation in aquatic ecosystems: the lack of quantitative baseline data

Almost two-thirds of the native fish species of Switzerland are threatened by extinction. To preserve or specifically enhance aquatic biodiversity and habitats ...

Genome evolution and genomic divergence across the Swiss Alpine whitefish radiation

Population genomics following experimental host parasite evolution of Chlorella algae and viruses

Investigating the interactions between migration ecology, local adaptation and diversification

Assessing biodiversity from genes to communities in Swiss river fish

Watercourses are among earth's most biodiverse ecosystems. However, they are also under severe pressure from construction work and hydropower generation, among other things.

Understand the mechanisms how adaptive evolution shapes reciprocal interactions between organisms and their environment, leading to either new opportunities or new constraints for further adaptation.

Ecosystem effects of parasitism, and how such effects might alter selection pressures on subsequent generations in mesocosm experiments.

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.