Selected publications

The authors have investigated the relationship of bird families. For the first time, they have been able to clarify the relationship of all families of non-passerine birds and almost all families of passerine birds by transcriptomic data. The new family tree is based on gene sections (3‘‑UTRs) that do not code for proteins, but contain sequences that are specific to the families and their genera.

Fishing primarily removes larger and more active fish from populations. It thus acts as a selection factor that favours shy fish, as this study led by IGB shows. 

The authors compared stable isotopes of water in the plant stem (xylem) and in the soil over a complete growing season at five northern experimental sites to understand where plants get their water from and what the temporal dynamics are of such root water uptake. This paper was a main finding of an ERC Grant.

The authors used a spatially explicit population dynamics model for the barbel to investigate the functional dependencies of sub-habitats. They showed that revitalising only spawning or only juvenile habitats is not effective; the functional unit and a minimum size of habitats are essential. The model helps to predict the revitalisation success on the basis of the size.

The authors studied water partitioning in different urban green spaces using stable isotopes. During the warm and dry 2019, evapotranspiration losses of grass and trees were higher than those of potentially more drought-resilient shrub. The study contributes to a better understanding of urban ecohydrological partitioning, which will be essential to sustainably meet water demands of urban green.

The authors applied an integrated modelling approach to address the complex species-specific macroinvertebrate responses to climate and land-use changes. The results indicate the non-linear response of species within the commonly used Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera taxa to altered streamflow conditions and highlight the need to include the species level responses in such studies.

The authors profiled the microbial community in Lake Tanganyika down to a kilometer deep and investigated their role in biogeochemical cycling. The microbial community in the surface waters was not all that different from a temperate lake, the anoxic water contained high abundances of Archaea (30%) and uncultured candidate phyla with high genomic capacity for nitrogen and sulfur cycling.

The year 2020 marked the end of the "UN Decade of Biodiversity". However, the final UN report showed that none of the 20 Aichi-Biodiversity Targets, agreed in 2010, have been achieved. Recognizing the perilous state of freshwater biodiversity, a research team led by IGB has issued 14 recommendations for political follow-up agreements on the protection of biological diversity.