Biodiversity
Alpine plants respond to climate change
Research
ETH Zurich
Researchers from ETH Zurich are studying how alpine vegetation is responding to a warming climate – and how some plant communities are continuing to stand firm against newcomers from lower elevations.
Aquatic insects are less likely to be invasive
Research
Eawag WSL
Insects that live entirely or partly in freshwater have a much lower proportion of invasive species than insects that live on land. This is shown in a study by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology Eawag and an international team of researchers.
Phylogenetic tree reveals: new species of whitefish have emerged in every lake
Research
Eawag
For a long time professional fishermen have known that there is not just one whitefish species in Switzerland, but a whole range of species each with their own specialization and local name. Researchers have now analysed the entire genome of the various whitefish and shown how specialists have all developed independently of each other in each lake region.
The genome of 100,000 African species will be decoded
Research
Eawag
Africa is home to a large part of the world's biodiversity. Many species are native only to this continent. So far, the genome of only a tiny proportion of them has been decoded, but this is an important prerequisite for their protection. The large-scale African BioGenome Project, in which Eawag researchers are also involved, now aims to change this.
Tapping the ocean as a source of natural products
Research
ETH Zurich Eawag
Using DNA data, ETH and Eawag researchers have examined seawater to find not only new species of bacteria, but also previously unknown natural products that may one day prove beneficial.
Drought impedes carbon sequestration by earthworms
Research
WSL
If dry spells become more frequent due to climate change, litter-degrading organisms found in forest soil, like earthworms, will suffer, impacting carbon sequestration: this is the finding of a study conducted by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL).
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