Laurent Vuataz
Fascinated by the diversity of life since childhood, Laurent Vuataz naturally chose to study biology at the University of Lausanne, where he began his academic career in 1999. Drawn to freshwater ecosystems from an early age, he joined the Naturéum’s mayfly research team in 2004, where he devoted his master’s thesis to these fascinating aquatic insects.
In 2007, he went on to pursue a Ph.D. in collaboration with the University of Lausanne and the Natural History Museum in London. Combining fieldwork in Madagascar and the Alps with innovative molecular approaches, this project marked a decisive turning point and firmly established his commitment to the study and preservation of freshwater biodiversity.
Beginning in 2012, he broadened his scope to applied ecology, working as a hydrobiologist at a consulting firm. There, he developed solid expertise in bioindication and stream ecology, while remaining closely connected to research at the Naturéum.
In 2020, he joined the institution as a permanent research fellow on the team dedicated to the systematics of aquatic insects. His multidisciplinary background allows him to contribute to numerous integrative taxonomy projects, particularly in genetic analysis, while developing his own research areas in phylogenetics and species delimitation. He also contributes to the development of reference databases for the barcoding of mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies at the Swiss and European levels. Since 2025, he has also worked as a freelance hydrobiologist, applying his expertise in mayfly identification and bioindication to projects focused on aquatic environments.