Mohammed Al-haddi

Person

In my bachelor study, I studied Environmental Science in Hadhramout University in my home country Yemen. After my bachelor study, my desire was to do my master in Ecotoxicology. I was happy to join the international masterprogram of Ecotoxicology, as it is a unique program as offered by the University Koblenz-Landau at the Institute for Environmental Science in Landau (iES Landau). In this program, I learned a lot in the theoretical part of Ecotoxicology and could apply this knowledge then in the practical part, consisting of various hands-on laboratory courses. 

Research

During my master study, I conducted a research project (module RPC) in the team Community Ecology and Ecotoxicology to compare the effect of Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) on the target organism (mosquito larvae) and the non-target organism (chironomid larvae). Chironomids and mosquitoes both belong to order diptera and are present in the same environment. Since Bti is applied to control mosquitoes, there is a potential effect on chironomids. Chironomids play an important role in the food web in the environment and therefore evaluation of Bti sensitivity is essential for a correct assessment of environmental risks of Bti application.

For my master thesis, I conducted a mesocosm study to investigate the effect of the pesticide imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid, on leave litter decomposition of different leaves and related organisms.