NICOLA VAN KOPPENHAGEN

Bio

I grew up in St. Gallen, Switzerland, and later moved to Zurich, where I earned my master’s degree in biology. During my studies, I investigated the direct and indirect effects of Ivermectin—a veterinary pharmaceutical used against livestock parasites—on dung flies (Sepsidae and Scathophaga stercoraria). This work sparked my passion for entomology, leading me to an internship at the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, where I studied how storm events and forest management influence insect community composition.

Building on this experience, I began my PhD, focusing on the effects of artificial light at night on arthropods. My research, a collaboration between WSL and the electricity provider EKZ, combines field and lab experiments to assess how LED characteristics—color temperature, light intensity, and luminaire design—impact both flight-active and ground-dwelling arthropods. With artificial light at night emerging as a key of environmental change in the 21st century and one of the main reasons of insect decline, the main goal of my PhD project is to contribute to more sustainable outdoor lighting solutions that balance ecological conservation with human needs.