Master’s thesis in Phytoplankton Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning Job Zurich area,Zürich Kanton Zürich Switzerland

Location: Zürich

Master’s thesis in Phytoplankton Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning

Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, is an internationally networked aquatic research institute within the ETH Domain (Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology). Eawag conducts research, education and expert consulting to achieve the dual goals of meeting direct human needs for water and maintaining the function and integrity of aquatic ecosystems.

The Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning Group of the Department of Aquatic Ecology (Eco) in Dübendorf (near Zürich) is currently offering multiple 6–9‑month master’s thesis projects.

The thesis project will be based in the research group of Dr Anita Narwani. The group focuses on understanding the causes and consequences of phytoplankton biodiversity. Information about ongoing projects can be found here.

We are currently offering multiple potential master’s thesis projects with different foci:

Investigation of phytoplankton as bioindicators of environmental change using time-series data. This project would be a collaboration with the group of Francesco Pomati and cantonal lake monitoring agencies. Your work would be largely computational (i.e. sitting at the computer, using the programming language R). The findings from this project have the potential to influence lake management and decision‑making in the future.

Characterizing responses of lake biodiversity to human impacts over space. This project will entail significant field work (May‑Sept/Oct) across Switzerland, including into alpine regions. The work requires good physical fitness, the ability to work on steep terrain in poor weather, and an interest in taxonomic identification of aquatic organisms. This thesis would be embedded in a larger project funded by the SNF to investigate lake biodiversity and ecosystem services in Switzerland.

It is a collaboration with Blake Matthews and Ivana Logar.

Developing high‑content imaging pipelines for the characterization of phytoplankton traits at the cellular and sub‑cellular level. This project is focused on the development of cutting edge, high information content, 3‑D images of phytoplankton using fluorescent confocal microscopy. It represents an exploratory project and would be developed with the Scope

M Facility of the ETH Zürich. If you like tinkering with new technologies, this is the project for you. We intend to employ the methods on the samples obtained from the SNALBES lake sampling project, so it also presents options to go into the field and contribute to the lake sampling.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, curious and conscientious student who seeks to develop a research project focused on understanding how the hidden diversity of lake ecosystems is responding to human‑driven environmental change. The main prerequisite for the application is the current enrollment in a master’s program in Switzerland (or the European Union) with a focus on Biology, Environmental Science or Ecology, ideally with a focus on Aquatic Ecology or Limnology.

Students in degree programs outside of Europe may be offered a position if appropriate permits for studies in Switzerland can be obtained.

At Eawag
, we have a working environment in which people with different experiences, strengths, and perspectives can fully contribute and further develop. Here, you can help us advance! We promote genuine participation, exchange, and mutual understanding. We create structures that enable the compatibility of work and other areas of life, such as care work, and continuously make efforts to reduce barriers.

Applications must be submitted by 30 March 2026 and should include cover letter describing your interest and identifying the project for which you would like to apply, as well as a CV. Applicants interested in multiple projects are asked to submit an individual application for each project.

For further information, please contact Dr Anita Narwani.

We look forward to receiving your application. Please send it through this webpage; any other way of applying will not be considered. A click on the link below will take you directly to the application form.

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Eawag:
Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology

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