Ecological perspectives on the Serial Discontinuity Concept in Alpine Settings (Domain: Biogeography and regulated river ecology)

Provisional summary:

My thesis aims to understand the ecological implications of hydropower dams on downstream aquatic communities in Alpine rivers, combining natural science approaches with social science methods. In the first part, I investigate macroinvertebrate community recovery dynamics following landscape fragmentation caused by retention dams and hydropower operations, with particular attention to the role of natural headwater tributaries in the river system. I apply an experimental design with fine spatio-temporal resolution to capture both longitudinal processes and seasonal variability. In the second part, I integrate social science methods to develop a Critical Physical Geography of Swiss hydropower, adopting a multidisciplinary perspective to inform river management strategies and riverine ecosystem protection policies.