Biologist Florian Altermatt of the Aquatic Ecology department has been appointed Vice‑President of the Swiss Academy of Sciences’ Biodiversity Forum. Altermatt, who holds an SNSF professorship at the University of Zurich, is head of the Spatial Dynamics research group at Eawag. He studies how animal and plant species occur in space and time, and how they interact. He is particularly interested in how natural communities are affected by dispersal and the spread of invasive species. He is also studying a new approach to biodiversity monitoring, in which the occurrence of aquatic organisms can be determined using environmental DNA extracted from water samples. Altermatt has been on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Biodiversity Forum since 2010, and a member of its decision-making body since 2013. The Forum is Switzerland’s scientific competence centre for biodiversity and ecosystem services. It supports research in this area and promotes dialogue between scientists and policymakers in the administration, industry and society.