Last changed: 01.04.2022This huge diversity of amphipods came as welcome news, but it has less to do with an actual increase in biodiversity and more to do with the fact that the researchers simply looked more closely. In a
Last changed: 05.04.2022The colour morphs occur in complete sympatry in mosaic habitats with rocky outcrops and Neptune grass patches. With genome-wide data for almost all Labrini species, we show that species with colour po
Last changed: 05.04.2022Adriano, together with Ralf, you have compiled all the published facts about microplastics for a highly acclaimed paper. What was the reason for this? We have received numerous enquiries from authorit
Last changed: 05.04.2022Tens of thousands of chemicals are in daily use in households and industry. Many of them end up intentionally or unintentionally in the environment, but only a fraction of these are systematically rec
Last changed: 05.04.2022Employees Eawag offers an international and multicultural working environment combined with opportunities for personal as well as professional development. All employees play an important role in the
Last changed: 05.04.2022Evolution depends on genetic mutations: if numerous random mutations accumulate in a population, a new species may emerge. Speciation of this kind takes millions of years. If a young species develops
Last changed: 05.04.2022Blue-green algae, correctly cyanobacteria, are among the oldest forms of life on earth. They are very common both in water and on land. Under very special conditions, they can spread en masse in lakes
Last changed: 05.04.2022The review paper “Rethinking wastewater risks and monitoring in light of the COVID-19 pandemic” was co-authored by 34 contributors from around the world. What was Eawag’s contribution?
Last changed: 05.04.2022In Agatha Christie’s novel The Pale Horse, the victims die of thallium poisoning. The author describes the action of the poison: the initial symptoms are similar to those of influenza; later signs inc
Last changed: 05.04.2022Martin, you will take charge of the COVID-19 Science Task Force. What exactly is your role? Together with the management team, i.e. the three vice-chairs Monika Buetler, Samia Hurst and Manual Battega
Last changed: 05.04.2022Biodiversity is severely threatened both in Switzerland and worldwide, and numerous organisms are facing massive declines – particularly in freshwater ecosystems. All the species living in rivers – in
Last changed: 05.04.2022Original publication ten Brink, H., & Seehausen, O. (2022). Competition among small individuals hinders adaptive radiation despite ecological opportunity . Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biologic
Last changed: 06.04.2022The expert on zooplankton in the lake emphasises that he has been elected ‘ad personam’ and is not serving on behalf of Eawag. This does not, of course, prevent him from representing Eawag’s interests
Last changed: 06.04.2022Mariane, what is your doctoral thesis about? In sewage treatment plants, sensors are usually maintained regularly. Due to high sensor maintenance costs on-site wastewater treatment plants are mostly n
Last changed: 06.04.2022Organisms exposed to challenging environments face evolutionary pressure to adapt, which could lead to modifications in a variety of traits, such as morphology, physiology and behaviour. Katja Räsänen
Last changed: 06.04.2022Environmental problems are generally complex, and the ecological processes and actors involved are often closely interlinked. Social-ecological networks make it possible to untangle such complex relat
Last changed: 06.04.2022The live images from the Aquascope reveal an amazing underwater world. Lake Greifen is home to a smorgasbord of wonderful creatures – star-shaped, cylindrical, horned or extravagantly coiffed. But as
Last changed: 06.04.2022Rain enables crops to grow, but it also causes the run-off of pesticides to rivers and streams. Concentrations of these substances in surface waters can be monitored by means of regular sampling. Howe
Last changed: 06.04.2022Parasitic wasps act as biological weapons against aphids in pest control. With the help of symbionts, however, some aphids try to defend themselves against the attacks. The struggle between these inse
Last changed: 06.04.2022The rock laboratory on the Grimsel Pass in the Bernese Oberland lies 400 metres deep in the mountain. There, geophysicists from the ETH Zurich have installed an experimental setup with which they agit
Last changed: 06.04.2022In several eastern African lakes, an immense variety of cichlid species evolved within just a few thousand years. The various species occupy many different ecological niches. While up to 50 cichlid sp
Last changed: 06.04.2022Catherine and Florian, the theme of the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) is ”Our solutions are in nature”. What does that mean from your point of view? Catherine: The theme emphasizes
Last changed: 06.04.2022A fundamental characteristic of ecological communities is that small animals are more abundant than large ones. These “ecological pyramids” are found in both terrestrial and aquatic systems. Depending
Last changed: 06.04.2022Today, one third of the world’s population obtains its drinking water and water for irrigation from groundwater reserves. Global population growth and water scarcity due to climate change mean that th
Last changed: 07.04.2022Environmental and Health Psychology (former group page) Research of this cluster targets at understanding how psychological interventions change opinions, behavioral determinants, and behaviors and ho
Last changed: 07.04.2022In Switzerland, fresh drinking water springs from the tap whenever it is needed. After use, it flows through the sewage system into the central wastewater treatment plants, where it is cleaned and rei
Last changed: 07.04.2022Canalisation, sewage disposal and hydropower exploitation – rivers are among the most heavily impacted ecosystems worldwide. At the same time, rivers and streams are highly dynamic systems of exceptio
Last changed: 07.04.2022Curdin Brugger's collage of over 100 pesticide bottles was created as part of the "Pestrop" research project. The project investigates the ecological, health and institutional dimensions of pesticide
Last changed: 08.04.2022Populationsstrukturen von Fischen in Schweizer Flüssen Im Rahmen einer umfangreichen Genetikstudie möchten wir untersuchen, inwiefern diverse Flussfischarten in ihren jeweils einzigartigen Populations
Last changed: 12.04.2022Chemicals from building materials, cleaning agents and pharmaceuticals or cosmetics reach the wastewater treatment plants with the domestic wastewater. Depending on the state of development, these mic
Last changed: 25.04.2022The sewage system in Switzerland is very effective, one of the best in the world, but it is also highly costly and resource-intense. A 130,000-kilometre underground sewer system disposes of human wast
Last changed: 29.04.2022Aesthetic weather report in the FLUX building About the imagery/video - Dual projection; one projection is based on live camera footage and the learning rules of a neuronal network; the simulation is
Last changed: 03.05.2022The difference couldn’t be starker: In Switzerland, 97 per cent of households are connected to central wastewater treatment plants, whereas three billion people worldwide have no connection to a sewag
Last changed: 03.05.2022A new format for conferences aims to facilitate much-needed change in science. Researchers from all over the world, from all gender and from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, are to be explicit
Last changed: 03.05.2022“Detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater” – research projects on this scale generally take several years. But now, thanks to major efforts, a group of scientists led by Professor Tama
Last changed: 03.05.2022Warm and dry weather, in the first half of April especially, led to the deposition of large quantities of flower pollen. When this was followed by precipitation in some regions, the pollen was washed
Last changed: 03.05.2022Every day, several tons of pharmaceutical ingredients are released into bodies of water worldwide. These originate mainly from domestic wastewater, because most substances are excreted again after ing
Last changed: 03.05.2022Naturally occurring (geogenic) arsenic contamination in groundwater is a problem of global significance, with noteworthy occurrences in large parts of the alluvial and deltaic aquifers in South and So
Last changed: 05.05.2022Oceans are made up of multiple layers, ranging from lighter, warmer waters at the top to denser, cooler waters at the bottom. Ocean mixing is vital to move heat, oxygen, nutrients and pollutants betwe
Last changed: 05.05.2022Countless chemical substances, including fertilisers and pesticides but also pharmaceutical substances and industrial products, leak into groundwater, lakes and rivers. “We want to know what the impac
Last changed: 05.05.2022“ValueDecisions” is the name of the new tool developed by Judit Lienert and her research group, which deals with decision analysis at the aquatic research institute Eawag. The web app relieves users o
Last changed: 09.05.2022Through wastewater, rivers and lakes are polluted with numerous micropollutants which originate from care products and pharmaceuticals, among other things. The Waters Protection Act therefore aims to
Last changed: 15.03.2022The Political Economy of Meat System Transformation The industrial food system is a significant contributor to global social and ecological problems. In particular, large-scale production and consumpt
Last changed: 11.05.2022One of the aims of the Swiss Water Protection Ordinance is to ensure that sediments do not contain persistent chemicals or accumulate substances that have a harmful effect on organisms. This is becaus
Last changed: 11.05.2022With a length of two centimetres, amphipods are not particularly large even in surface waters, but in groundwater they are tiny. They usually measure between one and ten millimetres. A team led by Pro
Last changed: 11.05.2022At 10 to 20 centimetres, they are the largest invertebrates in Swiss water bodies; they are active at night and little known even by fishermen and naturalists. Native crayfish live a secretive life fa
Last changed: 11.05.2022In agricultural areas, large volumes of water from fields, roads and paths enter streams via manholes or other artificial drainage systems. Because this water is not purified, either at a treatment pl
Last changed: 11.05.2022The microbes in our gut help us digest food, and help us to defend against pathogens. For pathogens to infect us, they must compete with the variety of healthy microbial species present in the gut. Th
