Biodiversity

Preserve biodiversity

Concerns about the preservation of biodiversity often end up on the losing side when it comes to weighing conflicting interests in the balance, and its loss is usually only quantified in financial terms when it is already too late. Eawag is researching what biodiversity really means, what benefits it brings, and what measures can be employed to preserve it.

News

March 2, 2023

March 2, 2023The updated Red List of fish documents a further endangerment. Prof. Ole Seehausen explains why.

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February 27, 2023

February 27, 2023Where is there still untapped potential in the use of water bodies for energy generation and what are the associated risks for water systems?

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Scientific publications

Ho, H.-C.; Brodersen, J.; Gossner, M. M.; Graham, C. H.; Kaeser, S.; Reji Chacko, M.; Seehausen, O.; Zimmermann, N. E.; Pellissier, L.; Altermatt, F. (2022) Blue and green food webs respond differently to elevation and land use, Nature Communications, 13(1), 6415 (12 pp.), doi:10.1038/s41467-022-34132-9, Institutional Repository
McFadden, I. R.; Sendek, A.; Brosse, M.; Bach, P. M.; Baity‐Jesi, M.; Bolliger, J.; Bollmann, K.; Brockerhoff, E. G.; Donati, G.; Gebert, F.; Ghosh, S.; Ho, H.‐C.; Khaliq, I.; Lever, J. J.; Logar, I.; Moor, H.; Odermatt, D.; Pellissier, L.; de Queiroz, L. J.; Rixen, C.; Schuwirth, N.; Shipley, J. R.; Twining, C. W.; Vitasse, Y.; Vorburger, C.; Wong, M. K. L.; Zimmermann, N. E.; Seehausen, O.; Gossner, M. M.; Matthews, B.; Graham, C. H.; Altermatt, F.; Narwani, A. (2023) Linking human impacts to community processes in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems, Ecology Letters, 26(2), 203-218, doi:10.1111/ele.14153, Institutional Repository
Keck, F.; Altermatt, F. (2023) Management of DNA reference libraries for barcoding and metabarcoding studies with the R package refdb, Molecular Ecology Resources, 23(2), 511-518, doi:10.1111/1755-0998.13723, Institutional Repository
To the library

Current research projects

An Eawag-WSL collaboration focusing on Biodiversity at the interface of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.
This Interreg project aims to understand the responses of Lake Constance to changing environmental conditions.
Assess the distribution and genetic structure of all amphipod species in Switzerland.
Almost two-thirds of the native fish species of Switzerland are threatened by extinction. To preserve or specifically enhance aquatic biodiversity and habitats ...
Understanding and measuring how flow intermittency drives biodiversity and river functions in an alpine environment
Assessing biodiversity from genes to communities in Swiss river fish
Developing tools and protocols on how to use novel eDNA technology in the context of biodiversity monitoring in riverine ecosystems.
Combining innovative approaches to phytoplankton and lake-ecosystem monitoring with community and ecosystem theory to to understand plankton-driven ecosystem processes.

Experts

Prof. Dr. Martin Ackermann
  • bacteria
  • genetics
  • antibiotics
  • resistances
  • evolution
  • ecology
Prof. Dr. Florian Altermatt
  • biodiversity
  • genetics
  • modeling
  • ecology
  • Ecosystems
Dr. Jakob Brodersen
  • isotopes
  • ecology
Dr. Helmut Bürgmann
  • antibiotic resistance
  • bacterioplankton
  • Microbiology
  • nutrients
  • surface water
Dr. Lauren Cook
  • planning of infrastructure
  • climate change
  • modeling
  • sustainable water management
  • urban water management
Dr. Philine Feulner
  • evolution
  • fish
  • genetics
  • comparative genomics
Dr. David Johnson
  • biodiversity
  • Microbiology
  • ecology
  • Evolutionary ecology
  • evolution
Prof. Dr. Jukka Jokela
  • algae
  • aquatic ecotoxicology
  • fish
  • genetics
  • plankton
  • proteomics
Dr. Marissa Breanna Kosnik
  • computational methods
  • data science
  • ecotoxicology
  • transdisciplinary research
Dr. Carlos Melian
  • biodiversity
  • modeling
  • ecology
Dr. Francesco Pomati
  • algae
  • biodiversity
  • ecology
  • plankton
  • ecotoxicology
Dr. Serina Robinson
  • Microbiology
  • biotransformation
  • Metagenomics
  • pharmaceuticals
  • biodegradation
Dr. Nele Schuwirth
  • aquatic ecology
  • decision analysis
  • modeling
  • multiple stressors
  • transdisciplinary research
Prof. Dr. Ole Seehausen
  • fish
  • genetics
  • ecology
  • evolution
PD Dr. Piet Spaak
  • plankton
  • sediments
Prof. Dr. Christoph Vorburger
  • biodiversity
  • genetics
  • ecology
  • evolution
Dr. Alexandra Anh-Thu Weber
  • evolution
  • genetics
  • ecology
  • Environmental change
  • comparative genomics
Dr. Christine Weber
  • river restoration
  • ecology

Cover picture: Eawag researchers Ewa Merz and Thea Kozakiewicz during field work on Lake Greifen (ZH). The underwater camera Aquascope records the tiny creatures in Lake Greifen in real time. (Photo: Jonas Steiner)