Research
My research is strongly embedded in theoretical ecology. I'm investigating how community of microorganisms assemble, how they function and how they shape the whole ecosystem. In other terms: Who is there? What are they doing? How they influence the environment?
Seeing the changes Earth is currently enduring, I'm also interested in how microbial communities will cope with a warmer climate and other upheaval.
I'm mostly focused on freshwater ecosystems and work both in the laboratory and in the field to answer these questions.
Collecting Bacteria in Siberia
How important is chance in the assembly of bacterial communities?
There is some chance in how bacteria move around on Earth. I have worked on the intertwining of dispersal and environmental filtering in shaping the biodiversity of microbial communities.
Tiny but mighty: The functional powers of microbial communities
Bacteria possess an impressive repertoire of functionalities. They are the main players of most biogeochemical cycles on Earth. I am interested in the mechanisms maintaining such functional diversity.
Global changes and microbial communities
Our Earth is subjected to many pressures grouped under the term global changes (pollution, warming, habitat loss...). My interests lies in the response of microbial communities to these changes.
Biodiversity
The variety of life on Earth
Community
All the species living together at one place
Ecosystem
Community that interacts with the physical environment
Publications
Dirren-Pitsch, G., Bühler, D., Salcher, M. M., Bassin, B., Le Moigne, A., Schuler, M., Pernthaler, J., & Posch, T. (2022). FISHing for ciliates: Catalyzed reporter deposition fluorescence in situ hybridization for the detection of planktonic freshwater ciliates. Frontiers in Microbiology, 13, 1070232.