University of Zurich’s Teaching Day 2026

At the University of Zurich’s Teaching Day (28 October 2026), outstanding student work was recognised with UZH semester prizes. Two BSc students from the Biodiversity study program, Lina Hasenfratz and Manuel Stuck, were among the recipients.

Both projects were carried out at the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies (DEBES). Lina Hasenfratz conducted her research in the group of Prof. Dr. Owen Petchey, co-supervised by Martina Jelić. Through experiments, she investigated whether and how local adaptation to two different stressors—heat and salinity, individually and in combination—affects competition between species.

Manuel Stuck conducted his research in the group of Prof. Dr. Florian Altermatt, under the supervision of Dr. Roman Alther. He investigated niche differentiation between cryptic species within the Gammarus fossarum species complex. Using extensive statistical analyses, he showed that the two species occupy different habitats despite being indistinguishable in their morphology and functional characteristics.

Both BSc theses addressed timely and relevant questions in ecology and biodiversity science, making an important contribution to our understanding of natural ecosystems, their biodiversity, and how these are changing in the context of global change.

Warm congratulations to both students and their supervisors!