The latest news from Eawag

To predict toxic algal blooms, researchers from Eawag recommend a combination of species identification and chemical measurements. Now, a new study confirms that there is no magic formula and that, instead, specific indicator molecules are needed for each lake.

Not only are the numbers of species declining, but the composition of species communities is also changing. This is shown by a new study published in the journal “Nature”.

Storage hydropower plants contribute to the energy transition, but also affect river ecosystems. Sustainable management should not only account for individual hydropeaking events, but also their cumulative effects.

New methods are making it possible to gain a more precise understanding of the role of organic molecules in the functioning of ecosystems. Researchers from Eawag and University of Zurich are therefore calling for a new “ecology of molecules”.

Elena Gimmi received an ETH Medal for her dissertation on the influence of bacterial “bodyguards” on the co-evolution of the black bean aphid and its natural enemy the parasitoid wasp.