Selected publications

The authors used unusual Citizen Science data from several decades to show that the American mink has decimated the native eider duck in the Brokey archipelago by about 60 %. In another Icelandic landscape, the return of the native Arctic fox had no discernible impact on the eider population - presumably due to the common evolutionary history in which the eiders have developed defence strategies.

The authors have identified the most important risk species among aquatic pets for Germany and developed a three-step risk assessment method that can serve as a screening tool and as a basis for legislation to restrict future releases of unwanted animals. This is essential, as the study also shows that 97 per cent of the freshwater species sold in Germany are not native.

This paper reviews the current state of knowledge on mapping and monitoring peatlands from field sites to the globe and identifies areas where further research is needed. Simple peat characteristics such as degree of humification, dry bulk density or stoichiometry can be used as a proxy to estimate the carbon and nutrient fluxes in different degraded peatlands. 

Until now, the toxicity assessment of microplastics in the environment relied on the model organism Daphnia magna for evaluating potential hazards to aquatic invertebrates. However, other Daphnia species are primarily found in Northern Hemisphere lakes, most notably Daphnia longispina. The current study reveals that Daphnia longispina can be more sensitive to microplastics than Daphnia magna. 

The paper offers an introduction to novel methods of high-resolution positional telemetry that provide guidance to practioners. It presents a summary of all techniques for fine-scale positioning of the movements of fish.

Looking at insular amphibians, reptiles and birds across the world, the authors investigated mismatches between native and non-native climatic niches and how these mismatches can be explained. The results show that climatic mismatches are common for non-native birds and reptiles, but rare for amphibians, and that several factors are significantly related to these mismatches.

A numerical model was used to evaluate engineered stream restoration structures and how to maximise their impact on hyporheic contaminant attenuation. Combined surface-subsurface structures were able to simultaneously increase hyporheic fluxes and transit times, providing conditions for contaminant attenuation that were many times more effective than surface or subsurface structures alone.

A solute transport model was applied to diurnal electrical conductivity fluctuations in a river to obtain long-term time series of transport metrics. The study showed that differences in transport metrics occur in adjacent river reaches and that mowing of macrophytes can increase the transient storage area.