MSc. Deborah Knapp
phone: +41 (0)44 63 49213
fax: +41 (0)44 63 41225 Research InterestsKeywords Education Previous Positions and Research Experience Fellowships and Awards List of Publications |  |
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My research is focussed on Planktothrix rubescens , a harmful filamentous cyanobacterium which is meanwhile reported for numerous large prealpine lakes such as Lake Zurich and Lake Constance. Both lakes serve as important drinking water source for millions of people. Thus, it is crucial to understand which factors support the successful establishment of this cyanobacterium in actually restored lakes. In Lake Zurich, the changed mixing (water turnover) regime was obviously a main factor allowing P. rubescens to successfully establish and to become the dominant planktonic organism. However, in Lake Constance the cyanobacterium appeared just recently, with the first documented bloom in 2016. My project aims to study if similar mechanisms favour the growth of P. rubescens in both lakes. Therefore, I evaluate long-term datasets in respect of physico-chemical factors relevant for the establishment of P. rubescens. In addition, I focus on genetic analyses to understand the current population structures in both ecosystems. Finally, with controlled growth experiments I will characterize the ecophysiological potential of isolated strains.
Isolation and cultivation of cyanobacteria, Image analysis software, Single filament PCR, Multiplex PCR, qPCR, Microcystin measurements, Light microscopy, CARD-FISH, General lake monitoring methods.
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SAME16, Poster |
16th Symposium on Aquatic Microbial Ecology, Potsdam, Germany, 2019: Deborah Knapp, Jakob Pernthaler, Thomas Posch, "Will Planktothrix rubescens also colonize Lake Constance? Analyses based on long-term datasets in comparison to Lake Zurich" |
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FBFW19, Talk |
6th Fresh Blood for Fresh Water Conference, Tihany, Hungary, 2019: Deborah Knapp, Ekaterina Pushkareva, Thomas Posch, "Effects of artificially induced mixis on microbial food web dynamics in Lake Zurich " |
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SAME15, Poster |
15th Symposium on Aquatic Microbial Ecology, Zagreb, Croatia, 2017: Deborah Knapp, Ekaterina Pushkareva, Thomas Posch, "Effects of artificially induced mixis on microbial food web dynamics in Lake Zurich" |
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2019-2020 |
Supervisor of a master student in microbiology, University of Zurich. Topic: Influence of deep water turnover on the seasonality of gas vesicle and microcystin genotypes of Planktothrix rubescens in Lake Zurich |
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2019-present |
Supervision of bachelor students in 4 courses. Topics of teaching: Aquatic Microbial Ecology (2x), Ecology (1x), Evolution and Biodiversity (1x) |
Lake warming effects, harmful algal blooms, microcystin, gas vesicles, nutrient stoichiometry
| 2018 - present | University of Zurich, PhD in Ecology, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, Limnological Station, supervised by Prof. Thomas Posch PhD Project Title: Reasons for the growth of Planktothrix rubescens in Lake Zurich and Lake Constance? |
| 2017 - 2018 | University of Zurich, Master of Science in Microbiology, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, Limnological Station, supervised by Prof. Thomas Posch Master Thesis Title: "Effects of artificially induced mixis on microbial food web dynamics in Lake Zurich" |
| 2011 - 2016 | University of Zurich, Bachelor of Science in Biology |
| 11/15 - 02/16 | Curatorial internship at Zoo Zurich 3 months, supervised by Dr. Samuel Furrer |
| 10/15 - 11/15 | Research internship (6 Weeks) Red Sea Environmental Centre, Dahab, supervised by Nina Milton, Project Title: "Algae overgrowing corals: different coral conditions found underneath macro and fleshy algae" |
| 2019 | Hydrobiology-Limnology Award, Master Thesis, Hydrobiologie-Limnologie-Stiftung fuer Gewaesser-Forschung, Zurich, Switzerland |
| 2019 | Best Talk voted by the Participants, FBFW19, Tihany, Hungary |
Fernández Castro, B., Sepúlveda Steiner, O., Knapp, D., Posch, T., Bouffard, D., and Wüest, A. (2021). Inhibited vertical mixing and seasonal persistence of a thin cyanobacterial layer in a stratified lake. Aquatic Sciences 83(2),38.
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Knapp, D., Fernández Castro, B., Marty, D., Loher, E., Köster, O., Wüest, A., and Posch, T. (2021). The red harmful plague in times of climate change: Blooms of the cyanobacterium Planktothrix rubescens triggered by stratification dynamics and irradiance. Frontiers in Microbiology 12(2366). doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.705914
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Knapp, D., and Posch, T. (2021). Burgunderblutalge im Zürichsee. Populationsdynamik und Einfluss des Klimawandels. Aqua & Gas 4:14-21
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