Selected publications

The authors analysed the trajectories of captive, wild-caught krill in 3D to determine individual-level interaction rules and quantify patterns of information flow. They demonstrate that krill align with near neighbours and that they regulate both their direction and speed relative to the positions of groupmates showing that social factors are vital to the formation and maintenance of swarms. 

Schooling fish, moving synchronously in the water – how do they do that? Using a robotic fish, the authors have shown that guppies can anticipate the behavior of their artificial conspecific and predict both the direction and dynamics of its movements. So this is another explanation for why fish in a school – which know each other well – are capable of extremely fast collective movements

The authors mapped and analyzed the literature on the hypothesis of urban biotic homogenization. They identified 225 studies addressing the hypothesis. Half of them investigated homogenization across cities, the other half investigating homogenization within cities. There are strong research biases and thus knowledge gaps in the literature and about 55% of the studies supported the hypothesis.

No life has yet been found on Mars, but it is exciting to explore under what circumstances it might be possible. The authors have studied the cellular processes that regulate the adaptation of microorganisms to perchlorates. If microorganisms could genetically adapt their stress response to this salt, their survival on the red planet might be possible.

The research team used a standardized, low-nutrient organic matter substrate (cotton strips) to quantify nutrient immobilization at 100 paired stream and riparian sites representing 11 biomes worldwide. Immobilization rates varied by three orders of magnitude, were greater in rivers than riparian zones, and were strongly correlated to decomposition rates. 

The quality of lake ice is of paramount importance for ice safety and lake ecology under ice. In 2020/2021, the researchers conducted a coordinated sampling campaign of lake ice quality during one of the warmest winters since 1880. They showed that lake ice during this period generally consisted of unstable white ice, which at times accounted for up to 100 percent of the total ice thickness.

The authors conducted a sampling campaign of water isotopes, combined with climatic and hydrometric data across an evergreen broad-leaved woodland, to assess event-based changes in water cycling and partitioning. Quantifying the transfer of water in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum improved the understanding of water cycling and partitioning in an urban woodland in a monsoon humid region.

Citizen scientists sampled more than 600 freshwaters in Germany. This unique data set provides evidence of 3 trends: first, microorganisms in the sediment show signs of chemical stress and antibiotic resistance in their genetic material. Second, excessive artificial lighting at night alters the species composition of  microorganisms. And third, all studied water bodies emit greenhouse gases.