Lara Grandgirard
I have started a master's degree in Biogeosciences in 2013 and since June 2014 I am working on my master's thesis. My main interest is ecology and especially ecosystem health.
Northern peatlands are “main hubes” between several spheres and support various ecosystem services with one of the most important, the carbon storage. However, climate change and anthropic pressure pose a dangerous threat to their health. It is essential to protect these fragile ecosystems and to find rather “cheap and easy” ways to monitor them. So far, testate amoebae have shown promising results. Thus, the aim of my project is to further test the structural response of testate amoeba communities along a broad gradient of atmospheric pollution throughout Europe. This study is a contribution to the international project PEATBOG.
I have started my work in the Laboratory of Biological and Environmental Sciences in Stirling University (UK) under the supervision of Dr.Richard Payne. I spent 5 months (Aug-Dec 2014) there improving my practical lab skills and taxonomic knowledge of testate amoebae. Richard Payne also gave me the opportunity to join him on some fieldwork in the North of Scotland and in Wales. So I had the chance to see other on-going projects on peatlands.
I am currently finalizing my master's thesis here in the Laboratory of Soil Biology in Neuchâtel University (CH) under the supervision of Prof.Edward Mitchell.
Formation
2013 - 2015
Master ès Sciences in Biogeosciences from Neuchâtel and Lausanne University
2010 - 2013
Bachelor ès Sciences in Biology from Neuchâtel University