Applied Animal Ecology

We are curious about how animals interact with their environment and are putting this knowledge into practice. Our research is dedicated to contribute to a more sustainable world!

Our work addresses the ecology of animals in natural and managed ecosystems and the role these organisms play in providing ecosystem services. We seek to understand mechanisms governing the structure and functioning of natural communities through integration of novel techniques with laboratory and field experiments. A major objective of our work is the analysis of food web interactions through molecular approaches: over the past 20 years we have been assessing a wide range of trophic networks in both terrestrial and aquatic environments ranging from glacier forelands to agroecosystems and covering anything between beetles and birds. We are thrilled to share our constantly growing experience and knowledge on this subject by the international MATI and MOTI university courses. DNA-based techniques also provide a powerful means to assess species communities and to detect pathogens in environmental samples, currently revolutionizing how biodiversity is monitored. Sinsoma, a spin off company from our team, offers these effective new approaches for anyone interested in employing next generation biomonitoring.