Dr. Sarah Richman

Additional information

I am a community ecologist interested in the interplay between climate change, shifting species distributions, and species interactions. I focus on plant-pollinator interactions, both because of a lifelong adoration of flying insects and floral morphological diversity, and because pollination is essential for biodiversity maintenance and global food systems. In my research, I have used plant-pollinator interactions to answer basic (how are between-species mutualisms promoted and maintained?) and applied (how do pesticide exposure and climate change affect pollinator fitness?) questions.

Most recently, I have joined the new ETH Joint Initiative “Translational Centre for Biodiversity Conservation”, where I work with a team of terrestrial and aquatic ecologists as well as experts in biodiversity and conservation policy. The Centre works in conjunction with key Swiss stakeholders to identify topics for knowledge exchange, translation, and synthesis. The goal is to create science synthesis products to be made widely available to conservation practitioners. More information on the Centre can be found here: https://synthesebiodiv.wsl.ch/en/