Selected publications

The authors compared 2 approaches to monitor mosquitoes in Germany: professional trapping vs citizen science. They show that these approaches are complementary. While systematically placed traps allow to better map mosquito diversity, the citizen-science approach of the Mückenatlas project allows to easily detect invasive species and provides otherwise unavailable data from private premises.

A mosquito monitoring programme was initiated in Germany in 2011, which has been complemented by the citizen science project ‘Mückenatlas’ since 2012. The authors analysed the Mückenatlas dataset to investigate causes of variation in submission numbers and to reveal biases induced by opportunistic data collection.

Little is known about the accuracy of numerical lake models during short-term events. Three 1D lake models reproduced the overall impacts of storms and heatwaves well. Timing of effects was simulated accurately and there was little consistent bias. Uncertainty in simulations increased during extremes compared to reference periods.

The study shows: Europe has some of the most fragmented rivers in the world. On average, there is about one barrier per 1.4 kilometres of stream, in Germany even two barriers per kilometre. Small transverse structures with an impoundment height of less than two metres account for the lion's share. The study also shows opportunities for reconnecting streams and rivers.

Mass development of cyanobacteria can deprive the water of oxygen and produce toxins. But cyanobacteria can become sick, when for instance infected by fungal parasites. The authors show that these infections do not only kill cyanobacteria, they also make them easier to consume for their natural predators. Fungal parasites thus help to slow down the growth of blue-green algae.

The authors call the attention of researchers and policy makers to two immediate steps: acknowledge the conflict between economic growth and biodiversity conservation in future policies; and explore socioeconomic trajectories beyond economic growth in the next generation of biodiversity scenarios.

Three 1D lake models reproduced the overall impacts of storms and heatwaves well. The timing of effects was simulated accurately. Uncertainty in simulations increased during extremes compared to reference periods. Increased uncertainty should be kept in mind when applying models to extreme events.

A Daphnia-parasite system was used to assess long term effects of fungicide pollution. Parasitic yeast lineages were reared in the absence/presence of tebuconazole (TEB). Multigenerational exposure to TEB caused transient phenotypic costs in the parasite. Parasitic yeast M. bicuspidata showed no potential for rapid evolution to TEB.