Team

Prof. Dr. Florian Altermatt

Professor of Aquatic Ecology, University of Zurich and Eawag

I’m interested in linking community ecology processes, such as species-interactions and dispersal, with biodiversity and ecosystem functioning at larger, regional scales. Much of my interest is on metacommunity and meta-ecosystem dynamics in dendritic, river-like networks.

Besides my interest in conceptual community ecology, I’m also a keen naturalist. My pleasures are–as Vladimir Nabokov said once–the most intense known to man: writing and butterfly hunting (with the camera).

Dr. Roman Alther

Senior scientist, University of Zurich and Eawag

As senior scientist in the Altermatt lab, I’m involved in teaching, supervision, and many of the lab’s research activities. My research focuses on amphipod systematics and faunistics, both in epigean and subterranean ecosystems, with a focus on Switzerland. Amphipods as model organisms help me to gain a deeper insight into processes forming biodiversity patterns over time and space. More specifically, dendritic aquatic systems represent a suitable study system wherein different ecological and evolutionary mechanics, such as dispersal, invasion and speciation, can be studied. Subterranean habitats are unique ecosystems with a long-lasting evolutionary history and interesting both from a biogeographic and ecosystem functioning perspective, but currently under anthropogenic stress.

Prof. Dr. Cene Fišer

Assistant Professor, University of Ljubljana

I am studying phenotype diversity and diversification within the subterranean amphipod genus Niphargus. A part of my research is dedicated to the on-going taxonomic revision of the genus, the other part to studying mechanisms underlying its evolutionary radiation.

Luke Ireland

PhD student, University of Zurich

I am a PhD student with a background in marine biology. During my undergraduate and master’s degrees I worked on community ecology orientated research projects, focusing on marine amphipods. I will continue in this field, researching dispersal, ecosystem functioning and seasonal dynamics with the meta-ecosystem perspective working with amphipods in headwater streams.

Dr. Mara Knüsel

Postdoc, Eawag

With a research background in ecology and zoology I am interested in the distribution of species, both spatially and temporally, and the underlying drivers. As a postdoc in the Altermatt lab, I investigate the occurrence of groundwater amphipods in Swiss drinking water wells. The objective of my research is to provide baseline data about the nationwide distribution and diversity of amphipod species in the groundwater. With this knowledge I aim to contribute to a deeper understanding of the biodiversity in aquatic hypogean ecosystems.

Anna Walther

MSc student, University of Zurich

With a background in biology, environmental sciences, and biodiversity, I am particularly interested in how human activities affect freshwater ecosystems. My research focuses on biodiversity in the groundwater of the Alpine Rhine Valley, with the aim of collecting baseline data before the Rhesi project (flood protection and river restoration) comes into effect. This data will serve as a reference for long-term monitoring and contribute to a better understanding of how large-scale environmental changes, particularly interventions in landscapes and riverbeds, could affect groundwater ecosystems.

Team alumni