A5030751815- Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies
- Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Freshwater macroinvertebrate diversity and ecology
- Identification and Quantification in Food
- Protist diversity and phylogeny
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology and Behavior
- Fish Ecology and Management Studies
- Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
- Invertebrate Taxonomy and Ecology
- Mollusks and Parasites Studies
- Marine Ecology and Invasive Species
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research
- Marine and coastal plant biology
- Ecosystem dynamics and resilience
- GABA and Rice Research
- Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Parasite Biology and Host Interactions
- Lepidoptera: Biology and Taxonomy
- Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
- Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies
- Plant Reproductive Biology
- Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences
- Isotope Analysis in Ecology
University of Duisburg-Essen
2016-2025
Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt/M
2023-2024
Saints Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje
2021
Charles University
2021
Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle
2021
University of Prishtina
2021
University of Zagreb
2021
ETH Zurich
2021
Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig
2021
Ruhr University Bochum
2016
Summary Land‐use changes have degraded ecosystems worldwide. A particular concern for freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem function are stressors introduced by intensified agriculture. Typically several affect simultaneously. However, the combined effects of these multiple on streams rivers still poorly understood, yet critical importance to improve management. We investigated responses benthic macroinvertebrates three globally important agricultural affecting (nutrient enrichment, fine...
Abstract Mitigating ongoing losses of insects and their key functions (e.g. pollination) requires tracking large‐scale long‐term community changes. However, doing so has been hindered by the high diversity insect species that prohibitively investments time, funding taxonomic expertise when addressed with conventional tools. Here, we show these concerns can be through a comprehensive, scalable cost‐efficient DNA metabarcoding workflow. We use 1815 samples from 75 Malaise traps across Germany...
Mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera Trichoptera) are prominent representatives of aquatic macroinvertebrates, commonly used as indicator organisms for water quality ecosystem assessments. However, unambiguous morphological identification EPT species, especially their immature life stages, is a challenging, yet fundamental task. A comprehensive DNA barcode library based upon taxonomically well-curated specimens needed to overcome the problematic identification....
Chironomids, or non-biting midges, often dominate stream invertebrate communities in terms of biomass, abundance, and species richness play an important role riverine food webs. Despite these clear facts, the insect family Chironomidae is treated as a single ecological studies bioassessments given difficulty to determine specimens further. We investigated stressor responses chironomid operational taxonomic units (OTUs) three globally stressors (increased salinity, fine sediment reduced water...
Fast, reliable, and comprehensive biodiversity monitoring data are needed for environmental decision making management. Recent work on fish DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding shows that aquatic diversity can be captured fast, reliably, non-invasively at moderate costs. Because water in a catchment flows to the lowest point landscape, often stream, it collect traces of terrestrial species via surface or subsurface runoff along its way when specimens come into direct contact with (e.g., drinking). Thus,...
Abstract Forest canopies are highly diverse ecosystems, but despite several decades of intense research, there remain substantial gaps in our knowledge their biodiversity and ecological interactions. One fundamental challenge canopy research is the limited accessibility ecosystem. Consequently, previous studies have relied on application either invasive methods such as chemical knockdown, or time‐consuming expensive setups walkways cranes. Therefore, time‐ cost‐efficient, ideally minimally...
Urban streams are exposed to a variety of anthropogenic stressors. Freshwater salinization is key stressor in these ecosystems that predicted be further exacerbated by climate change, which causes simultaneous changes flow parameters, potentially resulting non-additive effects on aquatic ecosystems. However, the and velocity urban still poorly understood as multiple-stressor experiments often conducted at pristine rather than sites. Therefore, we mesocosm experiment Boye River, recently...
Abstract DNA metabarcoding is increasingly used as a tool to assess biodiversity in research and environmental management. Powerful analysis software exists process raw data. However, the translation of sequence read data into biological information downstream analyses may be difficult for end users with limited expertise bioinformatics. Thus, there growing need easy‐to‐use, graphical user interface (GUI) analyse visualise Here, we present TaxonTableTools (TTT), new platform‐independent GUI...
Reliable and comprehensive monitoring data are required to trace counteract biodiversity loss. High-throughput metabarcoding using DNA extracted from community samples (bulk) or water sediment (environmental DNA) has revolutionized biomonitoring, given the capability assess across tree of life rapidly with feasible effort at a modest price. can be upscaled process hundreds in parallel. However, while automated high-throughput analysis workflows well-established medical sector, manual sample...
Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding has become a powerful tool for examining fish communities. Prior to the introduction of eDNA-based assessments into regulatory monitoring contexts (e.g., EU Water Framework Directive), there is demand methodological standardization. To ensure methodical accuracy and meet standards, various sampling, laboratory bioinformatic workflows have been established. However, crucial prerequisite comprehensive choice suitable primer pairs accurately identify...
Benthic invertebrates are the most commonly used organisms to assess ecological status as required by EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). For WFD-compliant assessments, benthic invertebrate communities sampled, identified and counted. Taxa × abundance matrices calculate indices resulting scores compared reference values determine class. DNA-based tools, such DNA metabarcoding, provide a new precise method for species identification but cannot deliver robust data. To evaluate applicability of...
Abstract Mitigating ongoing losses of insects and their key functions (e.g., pollination) requires accurately tracking large-scale long-term community changes. However, doing so has been notoriously hindered by uniquely high insect species diversity that prohibitively investments time, funding, taxonomic expertise. Here, we show these concerns can be addressed through a comprehensive, scalable cost-efficient DNA metabarcoding workflow. We use 1,815 samples from 75 Malaise traps across...
Abstract Environmental DNA (eDNA) extracted from water is routinely used in river biodiversity research, and via metabarcoding eDNA can provide comprehensive taxa lists with little effort cost. However, eDNA‐based species detection streams rivers may be influenced by sampling season other key factors such as temperature discharge. Research linking these also informing on the potential of to detect shifts ecological signatures, phenology functional feeding groups across seasons, missing. To...
A multitude of anthropogenic pressures deteriorate the Baltic Sea, resulting in need to protect and restore its marine ecosystem. For an efficient conservation, comprehensive monitoring assessment all ecosystem elements is fundamental importance. The Marine Environment Protection Commission HELCOM coordinates conservation measures regulated by several European directives. However, this holistic hindered gaps within current schemes. Here, twenty-two novel methods with potential fill some...
Abstract DNA metabarcoding is a powerful tool to assess arthropod diversity in environmental bulk samples such as Malaise trap, pitfall or hand net samples. While comparative performance tests for different extraction protocols, primers, and Taq polymerases have been made, the effect of PCR volumes on sample less explored. Although using small reduces overall costs, they may lead decreased taxon recovery higher replicate variability due increased pipetting imprecision, stochasticity (PCR...
Stream ecosystems are affected by multiple anthropogenic stressors worldwide. Even though effects of many single comparatively well studied, the difficult to predict. In particular bacteria and protists, which responsible for majority ecosystem respiration element flows, infrequently studied with respect responses. We conducted a stream mesocosm experiment characterize responses on microbiota. Two functionally important habitats, leaf litter benthic phototrophic rock biofilms, were exposed...
Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding has emerged as a promising approach to assess biodiversity and derive ecological status classes from water samples. However, limitation of eDNA surveys is that detected molecules may originate other places or even dead organisms, distorting local assessments. RNA (eRNA) recently been proposed complementary tool for more localized assessments the biological community. In this study, we evaluated effectiveness eRNA inferring richness species distribution...
Taxonomic sufficiency represents the level of taxonomic detail needed to detect ecological patterns a that match requirement study. Most bioassessments apply concept and assign specimens family or genus given time constraints difficulty correctly identify species. This holds particularly true for stream invertebrates because small morphologically similar larvae are hard distinguish. Low resolution may hinder detecting community dynamics, which thus leads incorrect inferences about assembly...