About us
get to know the team
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Dr. Jana Isanta-Navarro
I am a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Freshwater Ecology at the University of Copenhagen. I am most fascinated by the interplay of ecological and evolutionary processes in lake ecosystems. Especially the lower part of the food chain, from nutrients via phytoplankton to zooplankton is in the focus of my research. With my research, I want to contribute to our understanding of some of the challenges our freshwater ecosystems are facing, now and in the future.
Postdocs
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Dr. Laura Käse
I am a (marine) biotechnologist with a focus on molecular ecology. I hold a Doctorate in Natural Sciences (Dr. rer. nat.) from Kiel University. My academic journey began with a Bachelor of Science in Maritime Technologies – Marine Biotechnology, followed by a Master of Science in Biotechnology, both from the University of Applied Sciences Bremerhaven, Germany. My work focuses on using environmental DNA (eDNA) and metabarcoding techniques to study and monitor aquatic ecosystems, with a particular interest in plankton. I also enjoy coding in R, which I use regularly for data analysis, visualization, and bioinformatics workflows. I have great experience with traveling abroad, field sampling in the marine and freshwater environment as well as in the lab.
PhD Students
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Claudia Lassen
I hold a Bachelor and Master degree in Biology from the University of Copenhagen and specialised in ecology throughout my studies. I am generally interested in freshwater and marine ecology, and botany, but especially phytoplankton. I really like phytoplankton! For my PhD research I will assess changes in key-ecological traits that not only impact the fitness of phytoplankton itself but are also of nutritional importance to higher trophic levels. For that, I will experimentally examine ecological and evolutionary changes of more than 40 different phytoplankton species to several environmental gradients. I look forward to getting the first data, as I really enjoy data visualisation and statistics.
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Vana Paida
I hold a Bachelor degree from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and a Master degree from Uppsala University. Previously, I have participated in projects revolving around evolution and ecology, as well as their intricate interplay. While I’m always fascinated by studying evolutionary patterns and processes, I have developed a strong will to have an impact with my research on the global crisis induced by anthropogenic activity. For my PhD research I will experimentally explore phenotypic adaptive responses of Daphnia to increased salinisation through space and time. Building on existing knowledge, my research will identify the role of nutrition in adapting to salinization of freshwater ecosystems.
Master Students
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Yihong Wang
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Rakib Abdullah
In my thesis project I will experimentally explore short-term and physiological and ecological responses of key phytoplankton groups to anthropogenic threats. I want to answer the following questions: (1) Do phytoplankton groups differ systematically in their plasticity of key ecological traits to different environmental conditions? (2) How do differential plastic responses alter inter-specific interactions? With my research I want to contribute to understand the differential response of key phytoplankton groups to anthropogenic threats and its implications for lake ecosystems.
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Søren Gade
Together with Sofie, I am assessing how different cyanobacteria species found in low-saline environments (soil and freshwater systems) might be impacted by rising salinity concentrations. Climate models predict an overall increase of cyanobacteria in the future due to several factors, but very little literature assess how a key trait of cyanobacteria- N2 fixation- might be affected by rising salinity. Biological nitrogen fixation is a major regulator of the global N-cycle. It is thus important to study in a future world affected by climate change, where soil and freshwater systems might be affected by rising sea levels, more frequent storm surges and anthropogenic sources such as de-icing road salt.
Søren is co-supervised by Kathrin Rousk and Danillo Alvarenga.
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Sofie Thøger
Together with Søren, I am assessing how different cyanobacteria species found in low-saline environments (soil and freshwater systems) might be impacted by rising salinity concentrations. Climate models predict an overall increase of cyanobacteria in the future due to several factors, but very little literature assess how a key trait of cyanobacteria- N2 fixation- might be affected by rising salinity. Biological nitrogen fixation is a major regulator of the global N-cycle. It is thus important to study in a future world affected by climate change, where soil and freshwater systems might be affected by rising sea levels, more frequent storm surges and anthropogenic sources such as de-icing road salt.
Sofie is co-supervised by Kathrin Rousk and Danillo Alvarenga.
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Jade Amblard
Jade joined us from the University de Bretagne Occidentale in Brest, France for one of her master projects.
In my project I will work on the impacts of anthropogenic environmental stressors on phytoplankton and consequences on future lake communities. I will focus on three environmental anthropogenic stressors that currently impact and can be expected to influence life in lakes in the future: temperature, elemental imbalances and salinisation.
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Witek Tatarewicz
Witek is obtaining a double degree from the Universities of Warsaw and Copenhagen. The practical part of his thesis will be conducted in Warsaw. In Warsaw, Witek is supervised by Anna Brednarska.
The size-structure of Daphnia communities can have broad implications for the whole ecosystem, as species of larger body sizes are more effective filter-feeders and are the preferred prey of planktivorous fish. With water temperatures growing in many freshwater ecosystems, food quality may deteriorate because of diminishing stoichiometric P:C ratio in algae that grow at higher temperatures, as well as higher frequency of blooms of cyanobacteria, which are a poor food source because of their inadequate essential lipid content.
In my thesis, I will examine the amount of triglycerides (TG) accumulated by juveniles of three differently sized Daphnia species, under varying food quality and temperature regimes.
Bachelor Students and Interns
If you are interested in writing a BSc thesis with us or would like to do an internship, please reach out to us!