My main expertise is in plankton ecology (freshwater and marine), with focus on process studies and experimental quantification of population dynamics and trophic interactions from individual to ecosystem-scales, in response to environmental forcing in a changing world. I have 3 decades of experience in designing and leading international mesocosm experiments.

To overcome present bottlenecks in plankton ecology, I develop new approaches ranging from molecular and video-based in situ techniques to international networks of large-scale mesocosm experimentation. 

The ultimate aim is to quantify individual interactions enabling a better understanding of how whole plankton ecosystems functions and reacts to environmental pressures in complex natural systems.

In my lab we presently focus on development of in situ and laboratory video systems using deep learning algorithms to enable automatic zooplankton detection, sizing and enumeration at high spatial and temporal scales, as well as determination of zooplankton feeding based on molecular gut content analyses. 

Examples of forum and board memberships:

Board of European Environmental Research Infrastructures (BEERI)

Leibniz-Strategieforum Digitaler Wandel.