Business trip report, Sweden, Zhang

The three-month internship (1 April 2025 – 30 June 2025) was conducted at the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Research at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Umeå under the supervision of Dr. Daniel Cerveny. The main goal of the internship was to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of psychoactive substances on the behaviour (tracking, feeding, response to predators) of an aquatic invertebrate, the damselfly (Coenagrion hastulatum), and different experimental temperatures were set up to explore the potential impact of global climate change on this research.

During the internship, I gained a deeper understanding of laboratory studies and methods for small aquatic invertebrate behaviour, which will help me to combine field work with laboratory studies in the future. My skills in scientific communication and exploration of research questions were enhanced. In addition, I established new contacts and collaborations with other scientists in the field.