Tiny plastic particles can be found everywhere.

Uni News 10 April 2024

Microplastics can be found in the world's most remote marine areas. In the Antarctic, the pollution is even higher than previously assumed. Clara Leistenschneider, PhD, investigates this in her publication. more

Microplastics in the Water Column of the Rhine River Near Basel: 22 Months of Sampling - Manuskript von Gabriel Erni-Cassola*, Reto Dolf, and Patricia Burkhardt-Holm*

MGU team takes microplastic samples over 22 months at the Rhine Monitoring Station (RÜS)

The measured microplastic concentrations in river surface waters fluctuate greatly. These fluctuations depend on various factors. By representatively sampling the entire Rhine River cross-section near Basel through five sampling points over 22 months, our research group found an average microplastic concentration (50-3000 μm) of 4.48 n m-3 and estimates a wide-ranging load of between 4.04 × 102 n s-1 and 3.57 × 105 n s-1. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c08364

more

Ava's quest

Tales - Video abstracts

Meet Ava. She is a postdoc who is passionate about her research: "the stress factors that affect whales". She is the main character in a story about how to create a video abstract. A story that we will weave through this course as you explore ways to develop your own video abstract. more

presented at the CSF conference in Ascona, November 2023

The new poster from PostDoc Serena Abel

Microplastic in Swiss Alpine Lentic Waters: the Case of Cadagno Lake
more

Tales - Sustainability tomorrow

Identifying challenges, analysing approaches and assessing future strategies
How can you assess the sustainability of your country’s energy system? Which concept of sustainability is helpful for which priority. more

research in context - 7. August 2023

Viel mehr Plastikmüll schwimmt im Meer als angenommen.

statement by Dr. Serena Abel (in german) - more

10-year research at MGU on invasive gobies.

Poster von Attila Rüegg

The gobies were able to spread strongly on Europe's increasingly frequented waterways. The construction of the Main-Danube
Canal enabled the gobies to enter the Rhine. The navigability of the river and the increasing construction of riverbanks with
stone fills led to a loss of the original habitats. These newly created habitats, which were far removed from nature
were quickly and efficiently colonized by the invaders.

Congratulations!

Habilitation PD Dr. Philipp Hirsch

Habilitation lecture, May 2, 2023
"Globaler Wandel unter Wasser - Menschliches Handeln und ökologische Zusammenhänge" more

Rundgespräche 49, 2023 - with participation of Prof. Patricia Holm, p.57-64

Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften BAdW

Invasion der Schwarzmeergrundeln im Oberrhein und Auswirkungen auf das Gewässerökosystem more

under the lead of Prof. Patricia Holm

Results of the work of the ‘Pollution 2025’ intersessional steering group

International Whaling Commission more

Basellandschaftliche Zeitung 9 March 2023

"Die Grundel breitet sich wieder aus"

For more than 10 years, the MGU team has conducted monitoring with fish traps at the same location in the Rhine harbor of Basel. According to Prof. Holm, it is impossible to predict how much the goby population will increase this time.
more

Aqua Viva 04-2022 - Professional journal for water protection (in german)

"Schwarzmeergrundeln Schweiz": Strategie, Massnahmen und Umsetzung - eine Bilanz

Article by Dr. Karen Bussmann and Prof. Patricia Holm

Invasive species are among the greatest threats to biodiversity worldwide. The Black Sea gobies, originating from the Black Sea, are now also spreading in Switzerland and pose a great threat to sensitive fish such as nase, grayling or trout. In order to protect native species, the strategy "Black Sea Gobies Switzerland" was developed.
Interim results of this transdisciplinary project. (in german) more

Wissen - NZZ Sunday, 29 January 2023

"Du bist so eine miese Ratte!"

Our team studied - among other things - the personality of round gobies. Bolder fish overcome obstacles more easily and migrate upstream. Native species are displaced. more

St. Galler Tagblatt, 14 January 2023

"Schwarzmeergrundel nähert sich dem Bodensee"

Joschka Wiegleb describes the function of his developed goby barrier. The aim is to prevent the round goby from spreading upstream toward Lake Constance. The invasive fish was first sighted more than ten years ago in the port of Kleinhüningen in Basel.
https://www.tagblatt.ch/ostschweiz/ressort-ostschweiz/invasive-art-fluch-oder-segen-die-schwarzmeergrundel-koennte-bald-im-bodensee-einzug-halten-ld.2399781

Fact-Sheet Swiss academies reports

The Arctic under pressure

Man-made change in the Arctic and the role of Switzerland

The Arctic is suffering particularly badly from climate change and pollution. While the Arctic "thaw" threatens the livelihoods of indigenous peoples, industrialized countries see it as an opportunity for new economic activity. But the changes in the Arctic are also having a global impact. Therefore, preservation of the Arctic eco- and climate systems is essential for sustainable development outside the Arctic - also in Switzerland.

Fischer H, Chanteloup L, Csonka Y, Holm P, Jaccard S, Schaepman-Strub G, Schmale J, Vieli A (2022) Die Arktis unter Druck. Menschgemachter Wandel in der Arktis und die Rolle der Schweiz. Swiss Academies Reports 17 (4)
DOl: » 10.5281/zenodo.7155652 more

UMISC Wisconsin, USA, 25 - 27 October 2022

Invasive Round Goby Larvae as stowaways in small watercraft motors

Dr. Karen Bussmann presented our methods and approaches with invasive species at the conference and was able to compare them with those from research and practice of colleagues from overseas.
The creative approaches in the area of "outrech" and "public engagement" were particularly interesting.

EMPEROR PENGUINS STILL FREE OF MICROPLASTICS (FOTO: CÉLINE LE BOHEC)

Uni News 28 September 2022

Together with other researchers, Clara Leistenschneider examined a colony of emperor penguins in the remote Atka Bay on the northeastern edge of the Ekstrom Ice Shelf. "There have already been studies of water samples there in which we found microplastics, albeit only in low concentrations," the doctoral student explains. However, the impact of the pollution on the animals living there was still largely unexplored.

INTECOL2022 at GENEVA, 28 AUGUST - 2 SEPTEMBER 2022

2nd place "best Poster" for Dr. Joschka Wiegleb

Joschka Wiegleb wins second place at the flash talks with his poster "Swimming competition"!
"Who beats the flow in a hydraulic barrier for invasive fish?"

Publication by Serena Abel et al., meets with great media interest

Deep sea: garbage can of the oceans

Biodiversity at the bottom of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench threatened by microplastic pollution.

Sunset over the Atlantic Ocean

last Blog from the Polarstern

The Antarctic expedition ended in Punta Arenas, Chile, and almost all scientists left the Polarstern research vessel. Dr. Gabriel Erni and six other members settled in for the Atlantic transit, which takes the Polarstern back to its home port in Bremerhaven, Germany.

Blog Swissinfo

Last spring, Gabriel Erni Cassola and Kevin Leuenberger from our team are on board the German icebreaker “Polarstern” in the Southern Ocean that encircles Antarctica. They are taking us with them to show us their field work via this new eight-part blog series.