Migrating ripples create streambed heterogeneity altering microbial diversity and metabolic activity
The field study compared sediment characteristics as well as multitrophic diversity and function in two vertical layers of migrating ripples and stationary patches in sandy lowland streams. It indicates that migrating bedforms create streambed heterogeneity by modulating the abundance, diversity, and structure of different trophic guilds of microbial communities and their resource acquisition.
Light over mechanics: microbial community structure and activity in simulated migrating bedforms are controlled by oscillating light rather than by mechanical forces
The authors tested the effect of 3 migration velocities as well as oscillating and constant light conditions on the structure and function of the microbial community residing in sediments from migrating ripple and stationary patches: Light oscillation is the predominating environmental factor during ripple migration, resulting in an increased vulnerability of light-dependent photoautotrophs.
Mixtures of organic micropollutants exacerbated in vitro neurotoxicity of prymnesins and contributed to aquatic toxicity during a toxic algal bloom
This study investigated how organic micropollutants and the algal toxins prymnesins interact as mixtures in water extracts from the Oder River using neurotoxic effects on human nerve cells in vitro. The authors showed that prymnesins dominate the neurotoxic effects, but many of the detected organic micropollutants exacerbate the lethal effect of prymnesins.
Whole-genome resequencing improves the utility of otoliths as a critical source of DNA for fish stock research and monitoring
Unpredicted ecosystem response to compound human impacts in a European river
The authors have compiled and analyzed the key environmental factors that led to the mass development of the brackish water alga Prymnesium parvum in the Oder in the summer of 2022. The data synthesis shows how multiple stressors combined to allow an alga that normally thrives in stagnant salt water to proliferate en masse in a completely atypical habitat.
Respiration and CO2 evasion dynamics in moving streambeds as a response to flow regimes
The haplotype-resolved Prymnesium parvum (type B) microalga genome reveals the genetic basis of its fish-killing toxins
The research team has sequenced the complete genome of the microalga from the the Oder disaster 2022 in order to identify future risk factors under which the alga multiplies and produces its toxin. They were able to identify the gene sequences that encode the toxins an important step toward an early warning system.
Unleashing the power of remote sensing data in aquatic research: Guidelines for optimal utilization
The study aimed to elucidate the tradeoffs for the utilization of remote sensing data in limnological studies with an example based on the estimation of chlorophyll a due to its importance as a water quality indicator. Assessing atmospheric correction and product limitations ensures alignment with the limnological study.
Unravelling large-scale patterns and drivers of biodiversity in dry rivers
Linking terrestrial biogeochemical processes and water ages to catchment water quality: A new Damköhler analysis based on coupled modeling of isotope tracers and nitrate dynamics
Catchment-scale nitrate dynamics involve complex coupling of hydrological transport and biogeochemical transformations, imposing challenges for source control of diffuse pollution. Coupled modeling of isotope tracers and nitrate dynamics revealed that upland arable areas impose pollution risks under drought while the river-connected lowlands are processing hotspots and more resilient to drought.