Selected publications

Benthic filamentous algal blooms in nutrient-poor, clear lakes are unusual but have increased recently – and the causes are often complex and largely unexplored. The authors have compiled possible reasons. They want to draw attention to the problem because benthic filamentous algae blooms can change the ecosystem profoundly and can contain toxic substances.

The authors outline key mechanisms by which fishing can change the shoaling tendency and collective behaviour of exploited species – an issue that is rarely considered and poorly understood. They highlight potential consequences for fish populations and food webs, and discuss possible repercussions for fisheries and conservation strategies.

The authors used an isotope-based ecohydrologic model to assess the hydrological impacts of “re-wilding” in the Scottish Highlands by increasing Scots Pine forests for biodiversity conservation. They found forests will “use” more water through evapotranspiration which may initially decrease summer low flows and summer floods, though a natural hydrological regime will be restored after ~100 years.

The authors investigated how ongoning changes in winter conditions may have consequences for annual phytoplankton biomass and production. They showed that earlier winter/spring runoff and snowmelt during warmer winters lead to lower summer chlorophyll-a in 41 north temperate lakes in Europe and North America.

Developed in the context of the European Water Framework Directive, 24 fish-based ecological assessment systems for lakes across 21 countries were analyzed by a team of European fish experts. In total, 177 metrics are applied, addressing multiple anthropogenic pressures, predominantly lake eutrophication, hydromorphological alterations, fisheries and occurrence of non-natives.

The study provides insights into how large-bodied marine predators react toward wildlife tourism associated provisioning and allows further discussion about daily energy uptake during provisioning dives, its potential impacts on the ecological role of the target species and associated management measures. 

The authors monitored and modelled feedbacks in the soil–plant-atmosphere continuum to the drought summer 2018 and the following 2 years. The isotope-aided model EcH2O-iso was applied to forest and grassland in a lowland, groundwater-dominated catchment. Such differences in ecohydrological feedbacks to drought in contrasting soil-vegetation units provide insights into Critical Zone water cycling. 

The authors state that the reproductive capacity of large fish is underestimated. Even worse, it is the large fish which are targeted and removed by fisheries. The study shows that the replenishment potential of many fish stocks is overestimated. This increases the risk of overfishing. Especially the largest fish should be protected to a greater degree than is presently the case.