Selected publications

The authors created a database of lost and rediscovered tetrapod species (amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals), identified patterns in their distribution and factors influencing rediscovery. Tetrapod species are being lost at a faster rate than they are being rediscovered, due to slowing rates of rediscovery for amphibians, birds and mammals, and rapid rates of loss for reptiles

The authors show that fish have been particularly sensitive to changes in flow regimes in the past, while higher temperatures will pose the greatest threat in the future. The threat assessment will remain at least as high in the future. However, it could probably be mitigated by reconnecting former floodplains and improving river connectivity. 

The study developed a workflow to downscale global future scenarios to a regional and policy-relevant context. This workflow was applied at the European scale to create four European scenarios of biological invasions until 2050 that consider different environmental, socio-economic and socio-cultural trajectories, namely the European Alien Species Narratives.

The study provides perspectives on the use of network models to address a variety of applied ecological questions along spatial and temporal dimensions as well as on interactions between abiotic and biotic components of ecosystems. Through collaborative research, network models could provide important levers for sustainable management. 

To investigate how dissolved organic matter is degraded in soil and aquatic ecosystems by microorganisms, the authors analyzed its molecular diversity in relation to microbial communities and physicochemical conditions. Changes in DOM composition were consistent across different environments – as degradation progressed, DOM became dominated by universal, hard-to-break-down compounds. 

The authors investigated the variability of planktonic bacteria and benthic diatoms coupled with insights from hydrochemistry and stable water isotopes across four urban streams in Berlin. DNA metabarcoding results shows substantial spatio-temporal variability across urban streams in terms of microbial diversity and richness, with clear links to abiotic factors and nutrient concentrations.

The authors focused on extensions of the logistic growth model, and how intrinsic rates of increase and equilibrium population densities are not independent, but instead are functions of the same underlying parameters.  They highlight several options for modeling population growth, and provide a mechanistic understanding of how the model parameters of each model relate to one another.