Exploring the Ecological Footprint: Chemistry, Animals and Nature

Historical records of pesticides in the environment are almost not existing due to the lack of analytical techniques to detect them years ago. Therefore, in this talk, I will show how sediment records from different Swiss lakes under anthropogenic pressure can reveal the input of pesticides since the 1960s and how these pesticides are affecting aquatic ecosystems.

Chemical and pharmaceuticals industries have always been important in Switzerland: they emerged in the 19th century to produce dyes for the textile industries, later they continued with the synthesis of vaccines and drugs. But what is the impact of chemical industries on the environment? What are the major issues and what has been done to make chemistry more environmentally friendly? In this talk, I would like to tackle this issue from the prospective of a (future) synthetic chemist.

In the “green” world we can see tiny little parents fighting predators, others hugging their eggs and making sure they are well hydrated and clean for weeks and even parents that walk very long distances to deposit the tadpoles in safe places. With my work, I not only research the hidden mechanisms that amphibians use to increase their offspring’s fitness, but also communicate the science surrounding these lesser-known animal’s behavioural peculiarities through photography, illustration and even body paint.