Akvatiske økosystemer spilder en central rolle for Jordens biodiversitet og for Jordens kulstof- og kvælstofkredsløb, og de er essentielle for menneskers sundhed og velfærd. Aktuelt står de akvatiske økosystemer overfor en række udfordringer, som truer økosystemernes strukturer og funktioner. Det drejer sig blandt andet om forurening, overfiskeri, invasive arter og ødelæggelse af habitater. Viden om og forståelse af de akvatiske økosystemer og deres funktioner er afgørende for at sikre en bæredygtig fremtid for økosystemerne selv og for mennesker, som lever af dem.
På Institut for Biologi undersøger vi, hvordan akvatiske organismer reagerer på miljøfaktorer, og hvordan de interagerer med andre arter. Desuden kortlægger vi økosystemernes biodiversitet samt energi- og næringsstrømme igennem dem. Vi studerer en bred vifte af økosystemer, fra tropiske i syd til polare egne i nord, og har et særligt fokus på arktiske økosystemer. Vores forskning bygger på feltstudier, laboratorieundersøgelser og matematisk modellering og er ofte multidisciplinær med kombinationer af biologi, kemi, fysik, geofysik og ingeniørvidenskab. Vores mål er at opbygge viden, som kan bruges til at genoprette og bevare akvatiske økosystemer, og til faglig understøttelse af myndigheders og politikeres arbejde.
With my background in Biology, PhD in Global Development, and postdoc in Human Geography, l am trying to combine the best of different field to specialize in Environmental Justice and sustainability.
I am eager to explore creative and engaging approaches via inter- and transdisciplinary research collaborations and innovative students, from landscape design experiments and photography-based studies to body-mapping of nature relations, and Citizen Science.
Currently, l am steering a research project in South Africa with partners from University of Pretoria and private and public partner. We focus on collaborative, locally-anchored Green Infrastructure and Nature-based Solutions as a strategy to address great challenges surrounding biodiversity, inequity, water and waste in green spaces of deprived urban areas. The project includes co-development and onsite testing of landscape designs and ecological restoration with and in local communities.
In parallel, I am part of the SustainScapes research center, where I coordinating the LandSkab project, in which we will assess user perceptions through co-created landscape visualizations (maps, models and physical installations).
Tightly connected to my research, I see teaching as a privilege and passion, and an opportunity to integrate mutual learning with student-driven studies (see Pasgaard 2017).
See further detail on this profile page or do not hesitate to reach out for more information.
My passion is the natural history of life on Earth. I have combined this passion with the development of novel molecular tools to study biodiversity in a new way, and in order to work with what I love.
My research interests are mainly within molecular ecology with a focus on the applications of DNA from environmental samples (environmental DNA - eDNA) using high-throughput DNA sequencing. In my research group, we address fundamental and applied research questions within ecology and conservation. We are working with both species, community and population level analyses, mostly on animal eDNA but also comprehensive eDNA analyses using a tree-of-life approach. I also work with topics such as evolution, ecology and conservation.
What I do:
https://scholar.google.dk/citations?user=ZklvBfQAAAAJ&hl=en
Why I do it:
https://www.instagram.com/francis_in_the_field/
