Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries

The presence of mahi-mahi at multi-predator feeding aggregations modifies striped marlin attack behaviour

Abstract Terrestrial multi-species predator feeding aggregations (MPFAs) are characterized by contest competition, but scramble competition is likely more common at MPFAs in pelagic waters. However, empirical investigations are rare. Aerial video was used to estimate abundances o...

Multi-predator feeding aggregations in pelagic waters

Abstract Multi-predator feeding aggregations (MPFAs) are temporary co-occurrences of several species of predators simultaneously exploiting the same prey resource. Pelagic waters are home to the largest and most diverse MPFAs on the planet, however, our knowledge of the mechanism...

How volant seabirds benefit from sub-surface predators during multi-predator feeding aggregations

Abstract Multi-predator feeding aggregations are common in marine ecosystems and frequently involve seabirds. Often labelled opportunistic ‘scroungers’, volant seabirds derive diverse benefits from the association with sub-surface predators (such as cetaceans, pinnipeds, Teleosts...

Experimental manipulation of ecological constraints influences conflict but not cooperation in the humbug damselfish Dascyllus aruanus

Animal societies vary widely in levels of cooperation and conflict, and understanding the causes of this variation is a central goal in evolutionary biology. As with other features of animal societies, relatedness, competitiveness and ecological constraints (e.g. habitat saturati...

Comparison of particle properties and biovolume estimates from FlowCam and microscopy for kettle hole phytoplankton communities

Abstract The integration of high‐throughput image–based flow cytometry into routine phytoplankton assessment requires rigorous evaluation against established microscopy techniques. As method agreement is often site‐ and species‐specific, case‐by‐case validation is essential to su...

Emergent properties of urban landscapes shape urban eco-evolutionary dynamics

Abstract Context Urbanization transforms natural ecosystems into heterogeneous and fragmented landscapes, creating novel selective pressures that can drive eco-evolutionary dynamics. However, the specific role of urban spatial structure in shaping these dynamics remains poorly un...

A global mitochondrial genomic atlas illuminates freshwater microeukaryote diversity

Abstract Environmental genomics has transformed our view of the microbial world, yet progress remains largely prokaryote-centric. Among microbial eukaryotes, inconsistent marker choice and limited species-level resolution blunt diversity estimates and hinder cross-study synthesis...

Soil redox potential and plant species identity likely affect root-associated fungi in salt marshes

Abstract Root-associated fungi (RAF) are important for plant performance because they form beneficial, neutral, or pathogenic relationships with their hosts, thus regulating nutrient uptake, stress tolerance, and overall plant fitness. At the transition from marine to terrestrial...

Investigating the persistence of iron-bound phosphorus in lake sediment under sulfidic conditions

Abstract Iron (Fe) additions are widely used to suppress internal phosphorus (P) loading in eutrophic lakes by promoting the formation of vivianite (Fe(II) 3 (PO 4 ) 2 ·8H 2 O), a redox-stable Fe–P mineral that can sequester P in anoxic sediments over the long term. However, vivi...

Resource competition between buoyancy‐regulating and sinking phytoplankton species along a stratified water column

Abstract In temperate lakes plankton dynamics are closely linked to seasonal shifts in water stratification, following air temperature. The onset of summer stratification typically coincides with spring bloom for-mation of algae in the well mixed surface layer (epilimnion). Howev...

Learning from model failure: insights from an AI/SHAP-based temporal error decomposition of tracer-aided ecohydrological modelling

Abstract. Process-based models (PBM) have served as testing grounds for hypotheses, being falsified and refined through model evaluation based on temporally complex PBM errors. Yet, conventional evaluation practices (e.g., performance metrics, visual inspection across time series...

Evidence charts the future of freshwater biodiversity conservation

Evidence is essential for promoting freshwater conservation and selecting appropriate conservation actions. This article examines the importance of evidence for freshwater conservation, available sources, how evidence is used, geographical coverage, and the challenges in obtainin...

Changing flow regime of a Cairngorm river: identifying emerging patterns and potential drivers from long-term data

Climate change will alter patterns of landscape water movement and resulting streamflow generation processes, as precipitation and evapotranspiration dynamics change. Given their altitude and latitude, Scottish Cairngorm rivers are amongst Europe’s most sensitive to such alterati...

The Zooplankton International Geospatial dataset: A global repository of spatiotemporal freshwater zooplankton community composition data from lakes and reservoirs to support ecological research

Abstract Zooplankton transfer substantial energy in aquatic food webs and are used as indicators of environmental change. Syntheses of zooplankton community dynamics globally require datasets that span a wide range of environmental gradients; however, these datasets are limited d...

The value of electronic tagging and tracking studies for understanding fish–hypoxia interactions

Abstract Objective Hypoxia (i.e., low dissolved oxygen availability) is a natural phenomenon but can also be induced by human activities (e.g., nutrient enrichment from runoff). Given that dissolved oxygen is essential for aquatic life, periods of hypoxia tend to have negative co...

A Scalable Open Source Workflow for Riverbed Substrate Classification Using UAV Imagery

Accurate characterization of riverbed substrate from remote sensing imagery is essential for applications in fluvial geomorphology, habitat modeling, and river management. While recent advances in computer vision, particularly deep learning, have improved sediment mapping capabil...