Ecosystems

Understand and manage ecosystems

Why does one species of toad live in ponds, while another prefers shingle banks? How does the flora and fauna in a mountain stream change when the glacier has melted away? And how do invasive species affect their new habitat? It is only by answering questions such as these that entire ecosystems can be understood and, to some extent, managed.

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

Werther, M.; Odermatt, D.; Simis, S. G. H.; Gurlin, D.; Lehmann, M. K.; Kutser, T.; Gupana, R.; Varley, A.; Hunter, P. D.; Tyler, A. N.; Spyrakos, E. (2022) A Bayesian approach for remote sensing of chlorophyll-a and associated retrieval uncertainty in oligotrophic and mesotrophic lakes, Remote Sensing of Environment, 283, 113295 (27 pp.), doi:10.1016/j.rse.2022.113295, Institutional Repository
Peller, T.; Guichard, F.; Altermatt, F. (2023) The significance of partial migration for food web and ecosystem dynamics, Ecology Letters, 26(1), 3-22, doi:10.1111/ele.14143, Institutional Repository
Cote, J.; Dahirel, M.; Schtickzelle, N.; Altermatt, F.; Ansart, A.; Blanchet, S.; Chaine, A. S.; De Laender, F.; De Raedt, J.; Haegeman, B.; Jacob, S.; Kaltz, O.; Laurent, E.; Little, C. J.; Madec, L.; Manzi, F.; Masier, S.; Pellerin, F.; Pennekamp, F.; Therry, L.; Vong, A.; Winandy, L.; Bonte, D.; Fronhofer, E. A.; Legrand, D. (2022) Dispersal syndromes in challenging environments: a cross-species experiment, Ecology Letters, 25(12), 2675-2687, doi:10.1111/ele.14124, Institutional Repository
To the library

Events

27.03.​2023,
11.00 am
Eawag Kastanienbaum, Seeheim & online via Zoom

CEEB Seminar

29.03.​2023,

Publications for practitioners

Factsheet: Burgundy blood algae in Lake Constance [German]

Factsheet: Quagga mussel in Lake Constance [German]

Factsheet: Frequently asked questions on road salt [German, French]

Factsheet: Invasive species spread by recreational boats transported overland [GermanFrench]

Ecotox Centre Info sheet: Microplastics in the environment [GermanFrench]

 

Current research projects

This Interreg project aims to understand the responses of Lake Constance to changing environmental conditions.
In order to better understand natural processes and also to be able to better control the activities of microbial communities in technical systems such as wastewater treatment plants, we need to understand how microbial communities work.
A new multidisciplinary research platform for Lake Geneva
How to investigate the spatial variability in lakes?
Heterogeneous data platform for operational modeling and forecasting of Swiss lakes in collaboration with the Swiss Data Science Center.

Experts

Dr. Marco Baity Jesi
  • modeling
  • Computational methods
  • machine learning
  • data science
Dr. Helmut Bürgmann
  • antibiotic resistance
  • bacterioplankton
  • Microbiology
  • nutrients
  • surface water
Prof. Damien Bouffard
  • surface water
  • modeling
  • field studies
Prof. Dr. Rik Eggen
  • aquatic ecotoxicology
  • micropollutants
  • surface water
Dr. Philine Feulner
  • evolution
  • fish
  • genetics
  • comparative genomics
Dr. David Janssen
  • inorganic contaminants
  • chemistry
  • metals
  • nutrients
  • biogeochemistry
Dr. Joaquin Jimenez-Martinez
  • groundwater
  • hydrogeology
  • modeling
  • porous and fractured media
  • transport of contaminants
Dr. David Johnson
  • biodiversity
  • Microbiology
  • ecology
  • Evolutionary ecology
  • evolution
Prof. Dr. Jukka Jokela
  • algae
  • aquatic ecotoxicology
  • fish
  • genetics
  • plankton
  • proteomics
Dr. Blake Matthews
  • biodiversity
  • plankton
  • evolution
  • Ecosystems
Dr. Carlos Melian
  • biodiversity
  • modeling
  • ecology
Dr. Anita Julianne Tricia Narwani
  • genetics
  • ecology
  • plankton
Dr. Daniel Odermatt
  • monitoring
  • surface water
  • spectroscopic methods
  • earth observation
  • remote sensing
Dr. Francesco Pomati
  • algae
  • biodiversity
  • ecology
  • plankton
  • ecotoxicology
Dr. Christopher Robinson
  • algae
  • biodiversity
  • field studies
  • river restoration
  • ecology
  • hydropower
Dr. Martin Schmid
  • modeling
  • surface water
  • hydropower
  • climate change
  • Lake management
Prof. Dr. Carsten Schubert
  • isotopes
  • surface water
Dr. Olga Schubert
  • microbial ecology
  • biogeochemistry
  • proteomics
  • biomarker
  • microfluidics
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
Dr. Ahmed Tlili
  • algae
  • aquatic ecotoxicology
  • biofilms
  • micropollutants
  • nanoparticles
Dr. Colette vom Berg
  • fish
  • molecular ecotoxicology
Dr. Alexandra Anh-Thu Weber
  • evolution
  • genetics
  • ecology
  • Environmental change
  • comparative genomics

Cover picture: Eawag researchers Anita Narwani, Marta Reyes and Joey Bernhardt take water samples from one of the experimental ponds of Eawag. (Photo: Thomas Klaper)