Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important process in the water cycle that can help reduce heat stress in cities. However, it is dependent on surface cover. The study provides insights that can inform urban planning and water management decisions, including improving the living environment of city dwellers.

Many freshwater ecosystems contain significant amounts of nicotine and other chemicals from cigarette butts that are toxic to aquatic life. This study shows that some organisms may benefit indirectly: toxic cyanobacteria. This is because cigarette butts in the water harm their parasites by inhibiting infection by chytrid fungi. This promotes the growth of the cyanobacteria.

Researchers from the Cluster of Excellence Science of Intelligence (SCIoI), in which the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU Berlin) and the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) are involved, have proven in an underwater field study in the ocean off Mexico: the faster a school of prey moves, the higher the capture rate of the striped marlin.