-The effects of various environmental factors on biota
-Pollution
-Avian ecology
-Bachelor of Science in Biology with special qualification in Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Switzerland; Bachelor thesis: “Correlations between different behavioural traits in a highly social cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher”
-Master of Science in Ecology and Evolution with special qualification in Evolution, University of Bern, Switzerland;
Master thesis: “Phylogeography of the middle spotted woodpecker Leiopicus medius reveals mid- Pleistocene east-west divergence”
"Assessing the impact of environmental chemicals on seabird development and health"
Seabirds, as marine top predators, are at risk of experiencing negative impacts through chemical marine pollution. These impacts can be particularly detrimental during early life stages, in which most of the key development processes take place that are essential for many aspects of later life. Seabirds are exposed to many different legacy and novel chemicals, mainly through their diet. By looking at the exposure and possible effects of ECs on seabird chicks from different species will also help to understand impacts on the population level. The main research questions are: 1) What are the EC profiles of seabirds in Scotland? 2) How variable are the EC profiles within and between seabird species? 3) What are the effects of ECs on health and development of seabird chicks from different species? 4) Which ECs accumulate in the body during early life and how?
To answer these questions, non-invasive field-based sampling and a novel non-targeted chemical analysis will be used.
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