Dirk Nikolaus Karger

Dr. Dirk N. Karger

@dirknkarger.bsky.social

940 followers 300 following 44 posts

Scientist bridging #Climate and #Biodiversity...

Videos

Environmental science 60%

Geography 17%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Dirk Nikolaus Karger

Niklaus E. Zimmermann @nezimmermann.bsky.social · 10d

🌧️ If your team members are patiently waiting for 1h in the rain in a tropical #cloudforest, chatting, playing, laughing and happily continue fieldwork with rain-sensitive instruments as soon as the rain stops & finish the day with a “high five”: Now you know, you have a fantastic team! 🫶

Reposted by Niklaus E. Zimmermann, Dirk Nikolaus Karger

WSL Dynamic Macroecology @wsl-dme.bsky.social · 12d

Exploring the tropical cloud forests of #Guacamayos. 🔎 Foggy, rain-soaked and mild temperatures: #cloudforests are some of the most species- and endemism-rich biomes on Earth. Despite covering only 0.4% of global land, they host 3,700 #species of birds, mammals, amphibians and tree ferns. 🌧️🌳🌿

Reposted by Niklaus E. Zimmermann, Dirk Nikolaus Karger

WSL Dynamic Macroecology @wsl-dme.bsky.social · 16d

🚁🌳 We are collecting #biome data in #Ecuador using three types of #drones:

1️⃣ #LiDAR – to analyze vertical biomass distribution
2️⃣ Multispectral – to assess canopy leaf area
3️⃣ Photo – to capture leaf imagery

Reposted by Niklaus E. Zimmermann, Dirk Nikolaus Karger

WSL Dynamic Macroecology @wsl-dme.bsky.social · 17d

🌳 Towering trees (often >50 m), massive buttress roots and woody lianas are typical plant traits of tropical rainforests. 🌧

Reposted by Niklaus E. Zimmermann, Dirk Nikolaus Karger

WSL Dynamic Macroecology @wsl-dme.bsky.social · 18d

🌿Fieldwork in the #Yasuni National Park, #Ecuador.🦜
Our researchers are studying the structural and functional properties of #rainforests to better understand and define #biomes.🌳🔎

Reposted by Niklaus E. Zimmermann, Dirk Nikolaus Karger

WSL Dynamic Macroecology @wsl-dme.bsky.social · 21d

A breathtaking sunrise with a view of the #Antisana volcano on the road from Quito to Yasuní National Park.☀️🌋

Reposted by Niklaus E. Zimmermann, Dirk Nikolaus Karger

WSL Dynamic Macroecology @wsl-dme.bsky.social · 22d

The BIOME team explored the high-altitude city of #Quito (2,850 m) before heading deep into the Amazon rainforest for fieldwork. 🌳🌿

Reposted by Sonia I. Seneviratne, Dirk Nikolaus Karger, Jonathan von Oppen

MeteoSchweiz @meteoschweiz.ch · 23d

MeteoSchweiz, die @ethz.ch und C2SM präsentieren die neuen Schweizer Klimaszenarien.

Diese zeigen, wie sich das Schweizer Klima verändert, wenn die globale Mitteltemperatur z.B. um 3 Grad steigt.

#klimaszenarien #meteoschweiz #ETH #C2SM #NCCS

Die Schweizer Klimaszenarien 2025

MeteoSchweiz stellt in Zusammenarbeit mit der ETH Zürich und C2SM unter dem Dach des National Centre for Climate Services (NCCS) die neusten Erkenntnisse zum...

www.youtube.com

Reposted by Niklaus E. Zimmermann, Dirk Nikolaus Karger

WSL Dynamic Macroecology @wsl-dme.bsky.social · 26d

🌎 Our BIOME project team has just begun a 3.5-week research expedition in Ecuador! 🇪🇨 They’ll be conducting fieldwork across diverse landscapes to study how biomes have evolved and how to define them. 🔎🌿🏔️ Stay tuned for field updates! ✨
👉BIOME project: shorturl.at/RLQPw

Reposted by Francis Martin, Dirk Nikolaus Karger

Arthur Gessler @arthurobuntspecht.bsky.social · Oct 1

New research reveals how to better monitor tree #drought #stress! We combined remote sensing data (greenness & photoprotection indicators) with leaf water potential measurements to track drought impacts across different tree species.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Deciphering tree drought responses across species: linking leaf water potentials with remote sensing greenness and photoprotection dynamics

Monitoring forest drought stress requires indicators that capture tree water relations across species and scales. Remote sensing enables large-scale a…

www.sciencedirect.com

Reposted by Niklaus E. Zimmermann, Dirk Nikolaus Karger

Michael Nobis @michaelnobis.bsky.social · Sep 22

🔊 New paper: first integration of population genetics🧬 and dynamic species distribution modeling🌐 using #KISSMig to reconstruct postglacial dynamics of wild black pepper, endemic to India’s Western Ghats. #macroecology #popgen #phylogeography #biogeography

👉 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Reposted by Carl J. Percival, Dirk Nikolaus Karger

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · Mar 18

Holy shit. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say they’re trying to kill us all.

“The Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate its scientific research arm, firing as many as 1,155 chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists”

Trump Administration Aims to Eliminate E.P.A.’s Scientific Research Arm (Gift Article)

More than 1,000 chemists, biologists and other scientists could be laid off under a plan to dismantle the Office of Research and Development.

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Niklaus E. Zimmermann, Dirk Nikolaus Karger

Dr. Dirk N. Karger @dirknkarger.bsky.social · Apr 16

At WSL @wslresearch.bsky.social we are hiring a "Postdoc in Regional Climate Downscaling" for a forest/climate project in Armenia funded by the Swiss Development Cooperation (DEZA).
📍 Switzerland | 🕐 1.5 yrs | 📅 Start: Spring 2025
Details: apply.refline.ch/273855/1727/...
Please share widely.

Reposted by Niklaus E. Zimmermann, Dirk Nikolaus Karger

WSL Dynamic Macroecology @wsl-dme.bsky.social · Jul 10

@clechartre.bsky.social reimplemented #BIOME4 into a modular, high-performance #Julia version, enabling 1 km vegetation modeling 🌱 and integration of #CHELSA climate datasets. 🌦️ We can now simulate biome patterns across complex terrains ⛰️ and define biome boundaries with greater accuracy. 🎯

Reposted by Ingolf Kühn, Ben Bond‐Lamberty, Elena Litchman , and 9 more Ingolf Kühn, Ben Bond‐Lamberty, Elena Litchman, Márk E. Hauber, Andrew L. Jackson, Urška Demšar, Julian Schrader, Dirk Nikolaus Karger, Susanne Lachmuth, Julen Astigarraga, Mariana C. Chiuffo, Billur Bektaş

Juliano Sarmento Cabral @jsarmentocabral.bsky.social · Jul 10

Hiring/Seeking a *permanent* programmer in ecological modelling at my lab @unibonn.bsky.social. We mechanistically model plant communities, island biogeography, species range dynamics, eco-evolutionary feedbacks, diversity gradients, tropical forests, vascular epiphytes. Pls rt! shorturl.at/Bzzdt

Programmer in Ecological Modelling

Full-time, permanent, EG 10, Reference number: 2025/72

shorturl.at

Reposted by Dirk Nikolaus Karger, Julien Barrere

Biodiversa+ (European Biodiversity Partnership) @biodiversa.eu · Jun 10

📢 BiodivClim Comics are here!
To mark the end of the BiodivClim programme, we've teamed up with @tnoc.bsky.social‬ to turn science into stories. Explore:
🌊 Tides of Change
🌾 The Wheat Code
🌲 The Forest of Forgotten Futures

📖 www.biodiversa.eu/2025/06/09/b...

Dr. Dirk N. Karger @dirknkarger.bsky.social · Jun 5

Old news in new clothes www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 😂

Global increase in the occurrence and impact of multiyear droughts

Persistent multiyear drought (MYD) events pose a growing threat to nature and humans in a changing climate. We identified and inventoried global MYDs by detecting spatiotemporally contiguous climatic ...

www.science.org

Reposted by Arthur Geßler

Dr. Dirk N. Karger @dirknkarger.bsky.social · Jun 5

Earlier this year, Chen et al. @science.org showed that droughts are intensifying globally, with warming. www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.ado4245,
Now, Gebrechorkos et al. @nature.com confirms the same findings. Very important work, but not wholly novel doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Warming accelerates global drought severity - Nature

Increased atmospheric evaporative demand in recent years has increased drought severity by an average of 40% globally across both dry and wet regions, and the trend is likely to continue under future ...

doi.org

Dr. Dirk N. Karger @dirknkarger.bsky.social · Jun 5

@natureportfolio.nature.com, @wsl-dme.bsky.social

Dr. Dirk N. Karger @dirknkarger.bsky.social · Jun 5

However, the framing in Gebrechorkos et al. presents this as new, but conclusions are nearly identical. Is this a problem? Maybe yes, maybe no? But given that @nature.com always claims novelty, this should be at least discussed.

Dr. Dirk N. Karger @dirknkarger.bsky.social · Jun 5

Both Chen et al. (Science, 01.2025) and Gebrechorkos et al. (Nature, 06.2025) report similar trends, e.g. that droughts are intensifying globally, driven by warming, and affecting larger areas.

Dr. Dirk N. Karger @dirknkarger.bsky.social · Jun 5

Supprisingly, no citation of Chen et al. 2025. While this might be a simple oversight, but when conclusions and methods overlap this much in an @nature.com article, such silence risks misleading readers about what’s truly novel.

Reposted by Dirk Nikolaus Karger

WSL Umweltforschung @wslresearch.bsky.social · Jun 5

🌳🐝 #Sciencejob Alert! 🪲🌻Auf der Suche nach einem Job in der Schnittstelle zwischen #Forschung und Praxis? Das Synthesezentrum Biodiversität der #WSL sucht per 1. Juli 25 eine #wissenschaftlicheAssistenz #Biodiversität und #Naturschutzbiologie: apply.refline.ch/273855/1739/...

Stellenanzeige: Wissenschaftliche Assistenz am Synthesezentrum Biodiversität 60-80% (w/m/d)
Das Synthesezentrum Biodiversität ist eine vom ETH-Rat finanzierte Initiative der WSL, Eawag und ETH Zürich. Ziel des Zentrums ist es, Fachpersonen aus dem Naturschutz – Behörden, Umweltberatungsfirmen oder NGOs – praxisrelevantes Wissen zu Biodiversitätsthemen zugänglich aufzubereiten. Dafür leiten wir Arbeitsgruppen, die aus Fachpersonen aus Wissenschaft und Praxis bestehen. Diese erarbeiten zu diversen Themen konkrete Syntheseprodukte oder Handlungsempfehlungen.

Die Stelle umfasst sowohl administrative Aufgaben, wie die Unterstützung im Reporting und in der Koordination mit Projektpartner/-innen, als auch die Mitarbeit in den Arbeitsgruppen. Dazu zählen die Unterstützung in der Organisation, Vorbereitung und Nachbereitung von Workshops sowie die Aufbereitung relevanter Informationen und Materialien. Zusätzlich sind eigenständige Projekte vorgesehen, etwa die Erarbeitung einer Stakeholder-Landkarte im Bereich Biodiversität in der Schweiz oder ein Argumentarium zu aktuellen biodiversitätsbezogenen Fragestellungen. Der Arbeitsort wird abwechslungsweise an der WSL in Birmensdorf, der Eawag in Dübendorf und der ETH in Zürich sein.
Sie verfügen über ein abgeschlossenes Bachelor- oder Masterstudium in den Natur-, Umwelt- oder Sozialwissenschaften, in Geografie oder in nachhaltiger Entwicklung und bringen ein starkes Interesse an Biodiversitätsthemen mit. Idealerweise besitzen Sie Vorkenntnisse in diesem Bereich sowie erste Erfahrungen im Stakeholder-Engagement. Sie sind ein Organisationstalent und zeichnen sich durch eine selbstständige, flexible und präzise Arbeitsweise aus. Ausser-dem verfügen Sie über sehr gute mündliche und schriftliche Kenntnisse in Deutsch und Englisch; Kenntnisse in einer weiteren Landessprache sind von Vorteil.

Reposted by Dirk Nikolaus Karger

WSL Dynamic Macroecology @wsl-dme.bsky.social · Jun 3

🌿 What makes plants in tropical ecosystems so unique & remarkably adapted to their environment? 🌸✨
We explored this question during a visit to the Botanical Garden in Zurich, guided by our group member dirknkarger.bsky.social‬ — a fantastic opportunity to observe tropical plant traits up close. 🔎🌱

Reposted by Dirk Nikolaus Karger

Gabriel M. Moulatlet @gabrielmoulatlet.bsky.social · May 27

Metal derived from mining are causing widespread effects in the biodiversity. Check our new preprint on the species exposure to metal in the Amazon. More than 65% of all species are exposed to metal contamination, even in remote area.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

@fabrovillalobos.bsky.social

Amazon biodiversity is at risk from metal contamination due to mining activity

The Amazon basin hosts the most biodiverse and intact ecosystems on Earth, yet human activities are an increasing threat. Metal contamination due to mining constitutes one of these major threats, but ...

www.biorxiv.org

Reposted by Dirk Nikolaus Karger

Niklaus E. Zimmermann @nezimmermann.bsky.social · May 14

🍁🌷🌼Interessiert an Tipps zur KI-basierten Pflanzenbestimmung mit FlorApp/FlorID der neuen Bestimmungstool für die #Flora der #Schweiz?🥀🌳

👉Dann melde dich an am "Festival der Natur"!

shorturl.at/1fEEv
festivaldernatur.ch

#Natur #Biodiversität #FestivalderNatur #PflanzenBestimmen

Sicher bestimmen im Feld – mit KI zur Zweitmeinung

Schwierig zu bestimmende Pflanzen? Da hilft ein unabhängiger Blick. Das neue Tool FlorID der WSL bietet genau das: eine verlässliche Zweitmeinung – direkt im Feld. FlorID nutzt KI der neuesten Genera...

shorturl.at

Reposted by Sonia I. Seneviratne, Wim Thiery, Erich Fischer , and 1 more Sonia I. Seneviratne, Wim Thiery, Erich Fischer, Dirk Nikolaus Karger

Wim Thiery @wimthiery.bsky.social · May 12

Will you live an unprecedented life?

In our new paper in @nature.com and accompanying @savethechildren.org report, we detect who will face unprecedented lifetime exposure to climate extremes (🧵) 1/n
Report: resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/document/bor...
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Born into the Climate Crisis 2. An unprecedented life: Protecting children’s rights in a changing climate | Save the Children’s Resource Centre

The climate crisis is not a distant threat; it is a pressing reality that children are facing today. Despite having contributed the least to the climate crisis, the inherent intergenerational injustic...

resourcecentre.savethechildren.net

Reposted by Dirk Nikolaus Karger

Massimiliano Zappa (it’s fun again) @hydrologywsl.bsky.social · May 8

Die Geschichte dazu hier:

Zappa, M., Karger, D. N., & Hüsler, F. (2025). EXtreme Trockenheit in der Schweiz: Regionale und lokale Perspektiven einer globalen Herausforderung. In A. Björnsen (Ed.), WSL Berichte: Vol. 164. Extremes (pp. 13-21). doi.org/10.55419/wsl...

EXtreme Trockenheit in der Schweiz: Regionale und lokale Perspektiven einer globalen Herausforderung | DORA WSL

doi.org

Reposted by Dirk Nikolaus Karger

Massimiliano Zappa (it’s fun again) @hydrologywsl.bsky.social · May 8

8. Mai 2025 11:00

drought.ch ist nun vollständig umgesetzt.

2010: Beginn der Forschungsarbeiten
2013: Forschungsplattform geht Online
Mai 2022: Der Bund will vor #Trockenheit warnen
Mai 2025: Der Bund warnt vor Trockenheit

auf drought.ch werdet ihr nun auf die Seite des Bundes umgeleitet.

Reposted by Niklaus E. Zimmermann, Dirk Nikolaus Karger

Michael Nobis @michaelnobis.bsky.social · May 7

🔉Version 2.0 of our #KISSMig #Rstats package for #SpeciesMigration modeling is now live on #CRAN. 🎉 Together with Dominik Landolt we boosted performance by implementing parallel computing—making this simple dynamic #SDM faster than ever. Learn more about KISSMig here 👉 purl.oclc.org/wsl/kissmig

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