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Urban Algae: European young scientist’s project

The Weiße See in Berlin. Do the boaters care about the water quality of this urban pond? | Photo: Thomas Lehmann / CC BY-SA 3.0

Ready, steady, go: Today 97 young scientists from different limnological societies across Europe start studying the society’s perception of ecosystem services provided by urban ponds, as well their ecological status.

The scientist will measure the ecological status of European urban ponds based on primary producers like algae and aquatic plants, their diversity and water chemistry. Following this, they will link the ecological status to the societal perception of different ecosystem services: With the help of an online survey with images of different ponds they will assess how people value ponds by just perceiving their visual aspects like the primary producers present, the turbidity of the water or human modifications of the ponds.

The project was developed by doctoral students at IGB and the Netherlands Institute of Ecology. It was selected the second Collaborative European Freshwater Science Project for Young Researchers. FreshProject is a joint initiative by the European Federation of Freshwater Sciences, the European Fresh and Young Researchers and representatives of the Fresh Blood for Fresh Water meetings.

Stay updated about the progress of the project and follow Urban Algae on Research Gate and Twitter!

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