Selected publications

Empirical studies show divergent impacts of alien populations on ecosystems which hinders the creation of a unified theory. The authors propose a synthesis that categorizes hypotheses along a timeline of invasion considering population, community and ecosystem levels. For any given case study, this framework provides a guide to choose the appropriate concepts according to the stage of invasion.

The authors undertook the first global assessment of the impacts of alien species on native freshwater megafauna using the Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa framework. Negative impacts on native freshwater megafauna were caused by 61 alien species from diverse taxonomic groups, including both freshwater and terrestrial alien species, and both vertebrates and invertebrates.

The authors investigated the effectiveness of Protected Areas (PAs) in conserving amphibians and reptiles under climate change. They found that PAs are effective in providing refuge to these species, but spatial conservation gaps still exist and many species may go extinct due to climate change.

Thanks to the commitment of nearly 100 researchers, the EPTO-database is the first global data source regarding geo-referenced and freely available data sets on aquatic insect occurrences - Mayflies (Ephemeroptera), stoneflies (Plecoptera), caddisflies (Trichoptera) and dragonflies (Odonata) - worldwide. 

Cyanobacteria are considered to be heat-loving, and massive algal blooms are reported mainly in summer, when monitoring is particularly close. Now, the authors show that cyanobacterial blooms can also occur at colder temperatures - even under ice. If the algal blooms go unnoticed, there are risks to drinking water production.

This is a review of multiple-stressor research in freshwaters, particularly studies that have experimentally manipulated multiple stressors and measured responses of multispecies assemblages. There is a gap between biotic interactions under multiple stressors and ecosystem recovery pathways after restoration, indicating a disconnect between multiple stressor research and environmental practice.

Multiple stressors can affect species indirectly through either abiotic variables or impacts on non-target species. Stress tolerance is the key determinant of responses to increasing stress intensity. Dispersal and biotic interactions are the two key mechanisms governing responses to the release from stressors.

The authors explored how spatial and temporal variability of lake food webs and their links to the terrestrial environment affect trophic transfer efficiency (TTE). They suggest that TTE can be estimated as mechanistic expression of energy flow between consumer and producer pairs, or as ecosystem efficiency comparing total sums of heterotrophic production rates with fixation rates of carbon.