BIodiversity and BioGEochemistry of Riverine landscapes
Our research group investigates how spatial and long-term stressors influence biogeochemical processes and biodiversity in running waters and wetlands, integrating socio-ecological aspects and aquatic ecosystem management.
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- Excited to share our new paper about water quality in Kampala’s Lubigi wetland. Stormwater/sewage overloads wetland’s treatment capacity, causing persistent microbial contamination. Wetlands are vital buffers, but robust infrastructure and source control are essential. 🔗 doi.org/10.2166/wash...
- New paper out: This well-timed paper provides a European-scale framework integrating Habitats Directive + WFD indicators, using Bayesian Networks to identify restoration opportunities and spatial targets aligned with the Nature Restoration Regulation aims. 🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.wa...
- Exciting news for 2026! New paper out: River–floodplain metacommunities as complex networks 🔗 doi.org/10.1002/edn3... Connectivity matters: A Bayesian multilayer analysis shows how movement, interactions, and environment shape biodiversity, incl. top predators and invasive species 🌍💧
- New in Microbial Ecology: A model–data fusion study shows how human impacts shape bacterioplankton in Taihu Lake river networks across the rainy season, integrating MIKE11 water-level simulations. By Zhao, Hein & Wang— the study provides insights for ecosystem health assessments
- Last week our team held its annual retreat at Kalkalpen National Park. We shared project updates, exchanged ideas, and explored new collaborations—then enjoyed the winter wonderland outdoors. Feeling inspired and recharged! ❄️🌲
- 🎉 New Article Published! Excited to share ‘specleanr': an R package for flagging environmental outliers in ecological data. With 20 detection methods, it offers a user-friendly, reproducible tool for biogeographical modeling and data analysis. 🔗 Read more: doi.org/10.1002/ecog...
- 🎉Great news to end the week! Congrats to Nadija Čehajić on defending her Master’s thesis "Spatial patterns of greenhouse gas emissions in a floodplain system". Supervised by T. Hein, E. Bondar-Kunze & A. K. Sieczko, this work offers key insights into greenhouse gas dynamics in floodplains.
- 🚀More exciting news! Our new paper, "Introducing fwtraits – an R package for freshwater biodiversity traits," is out! Anthony Basooma & co-authors present fwtraits, a tool for accessing standardized ecological data for freshwater species via freshwaterecology.info doi.org/10.1016/j.ba...
- 🌟Exciting news! Our article "The dynamics of linked social–ecological action situations reveal governance changes in the Austrian Danube" is out! We analyze the shift in Donau-Auen National Park governance- from top-down to polycentric and participatory. 🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.je...
- 📄New paper out: "Responses of Oligochaeta & Chironomidae to connectivity restoration in river–floodplains" published in Restoration Ecology. Sonia Recinos & coauthors explore restoration impacts on macroinvertebrates & lasting strategies🐛💧 doi.org/10.1111/rec....
- Our colleague Anthony Basooma presented his research on how environmental and human stressors drive the diversity of functional diversity of fish at the Society Global Conference for Ecological Modelling in Kashiwa. Well done and greetings to Japan!
- 🎥Last Friday, filmmaker Christian Pfabigan filmed one of the final sessions for "The Voice of the Thaya" in Thayatal National Park. Ronald Pöppl shared insights on the river’s formation, meanders, human impacts, and sediment research in the Fugnitz River 🌊🍂 www.ukweli.at
- Excited to share our new paper from our team highlighting the complex interactions between hydrological alterations and phytoplankton microbial communities. @Thomas Hein, @Olena Bilous rdcu.be/eLWCm
- 🐟Ever wondered what life’s like for a fish in the Danube? Watch our short video, exploring how dams, river regulation, floodplain disconnection, and ship traffic impact ecosystems. Presented by Johannes Kowal at the #CDLMERI 30-year anniversary! www.youtube.com/shorts/JUzUx...
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- New Paper - ‚Drivers of metacommunity dynamics in river-floodplain fish: A Path Modeling Approach‘, by K Feng, I Czeglédi, A Funk, T Hein, D Pont, P Meulenbroek, A Valentini & T Erős, in Ecol Monographs doi.org/10.1002/ecm.... @fwf-at.bsky.social
- Ronald Poeppl shared insights on the DANSER project and sustainable sediment management in the Upper Danube at the Regional Conference of the International Association of Geomorphologists in Romania🌍🌊
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- Ronald Poeppl shared insights from the DANube Sediment Restoration (DANSER) project in the Upper Danube with his talk, "Towards deployment and upscaling of sustainable sediment management across the Danube," at the Conference Geographies of a Changing Europe (EUGEO)
- Ship-induced waves and habitat fragmentation from dams are key pressures on rivers. At the German Society of Limnology-DGL annual meeting in Frankfurt, Anna-Lisa Dittrich & Johannes Kowal shared research findings and mitigation strategies, sparking great discussions at the Senckenberg Museum dinner🌊
- “With the Danube projects, we are among Europe’s leaders,” said Innovation Minister Peter Hanke (#BMIMI). On August 25, he visited key project sites east of Vienna, including Dynamic LIFE Lines Danube and fish monitoring by the BOKU-CD Lab MERI🌊 👉More: www.viadonau.org/newsroom/new...
- Our institute plays a key role in DANUBIUS-RI, a European research effort addressing riverine environmental challenges. Through the "Upper Danube Austria" Supersite, BOKU advances climate resilience and sustainability strategies 🌊 Further information on danubius.boku.ac.at
- Kicking off the Sustainability in Hydropower Conference at BOKU University, Vienna! Our colleagues Johannes Kowal and Anthony Basooma presented their work on how human-made stressors, such as barriers, impact fish population connectivity in the Danube River and across European river catchments. 🌊🐟
- 🌊How do waves from ships impact freshwater biodiversity? Check out this fascinating interview with Christoph Hauer, Thomas Hein, and Anna-Lisa Dittrich, where they discuss how wave action affects aquatic ecosystems and the delicate balance of life in rivers. science.orf.at/stories/3231...
- New paper out! In "Cascading effects of land use on ecosystem function in Afrotropical headwater streams," PhD candidate Florence Nansumbi & co-authors examine how human activities disrupt biogeochemical cycles in an Afrotropical watershed 🌍🌊 link.springer.com/article/10.1...
- Our colleague Ronald Poeppl engaging in outreach for the DANSER project, inspiring young minds by discussing river floods and the role of humans at the "Junge Uni Waldviertel-Vysočina." 🌊👏
- 📢A new book is out: "The Danube River and the Western Black Sea Coast – A volume in Ecohydrology from Catchment to Coast" is out: www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780443... Congrats to Prof. Dr. Thomas Hein on this remarkable work!👏
- An inspiring week on freshwater science & conservation! Colleagues from our BIGER team engaged with leading experts at the SEFS14 conference in Bolu, Turkey, shared ideas, and explored ways to preserve our vital freshwater ecosystems for the future. 🌊💧
- eDNA meets the Danube! 🌊 IHG leads eDNA activities for #JDS5, Europe’s largest river monitoring campaign. Sampling ~3,000 km of the Danube in 3 weeks with 300 samples—a big step for biodiversity protection in one of Europe’s key river systems
- BIGER members joined the CEEPUS–EcoManAqua Summer School in Osijek & Kopački Rit🌊 Prof. Thomas Hein lectured on floodplain ecology, and Dr. Olena Bilous on algae ecology. Students Nadija Čehajić & Bhargavi Nerikar gained hands-on experience in biodiversity & conservation
- Our BIGER group participated in the 5th I.S. Rivers Conference (June 30–July 4), sharing research that included the topics of network connectivity (E. Bondar-Kunze), shipwave effects (A.-L. Dittrich), river restoration (A. Funk), and fish ecology in Central Asia (D. S. Hayes) 🌊
- 🌍 Greenpeace data reveals dramatic water loss in Austria’s rivers—15 of 18 studied rivers show declining volumes. Rising water temperatures and lower summer flows harm river ecosystems. Prof. Dr. Thomas Hein: “We must act decisively now as a society.” 🌊 greenpeace.at/presse/green...
- #JDS5 is officially launched! 🌍 Today in Vienna, we kicked off the world’s largest surface water monitoring project! 🔬 At the kick-off-event: the Federal Minister Norbert Totschnig- www.bmluk.gv.at/themen/wasse... 👉 danubesurvey.org
- Less water, more extremes! Austria’s rivers face climate stress 🌊 Greenpeace data shows falling water levels and rising floods in rivers like the Danube. Ronald Pöppl calls for restoring floodplains, boosting water storage, reducing soil sealing, and sustainable land use- orf.at/stories/3397...
- 🌍💧 We wrapped up last week with the DANSER second general assembly! Partners discussed progress and next steps for this groundbreaking project tackling sediment management in the Danube River Basin. DANSER aims to restore sediment balance, improve water quality, and address climate and human impacts
- Our new study from Uganda Lubigi wetland highlights wetlands as nature-based solutions in wastewater and stormwater treatment, but are ineffective when overloaded. Congrats to Flavia Byekwaso, Thomas Hein, Gabriele Weigelhofer, and other co-authors. doi.org/10.3390/w171...
- Exciting news! Our colleague Paul Meulenbroek delivered an outstanding talk, 'Biodiversity in a Drop: Monitoring Nature with eDNA,' at the 50th Anniversary of IHP & 60 Years of UNESCO Water Sciences.' 🌍💧 #danube4all #DANUBElifelines #MERI
- New study from Taita Hills, Kenya, shows how small highland wetlands are vital yet threatened ecosystems. The team highlights land-use changes & calls for regenerative farming. Congrats to Sharon Gubamwoyo, Thomas Hein, Gabriele Weigelhofer and other coauthors👏 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
- Is the Klosterneuburg floodplain at risk of drying out? Follow this interesting interview with our colleagues Thomas Hein and Ronald Poeppl as they discuss the impact of hydroelectric plants and flood events on this ecosystem - and the urgent need for action! noe.orf.at/stories/3307...
- "Urban challenges need natural answers". At the Biogeochemistry of Wetlands and Aquatic Systems Symposium in Baton Rouge, Flavia Byekwaso shared how wetlands act as nature-based solutions for urban environments. #BOKU #IHG
- Join us to the SUSHP2025! The 3rd International Conference on Sustainability in Hydropower will take place on the 2–5 September 2025 at BOKU University.
- 🌍 #SUSHP2025 is coming! Join us in Vienna or online, Sept 2–5, to explore new research & best-practice for sustainable hydropower! 🌊⚡ 📢 Submit your abstract by May 31 👉 sushp2025.boku.ac.at @bokuvienna.bsky.social @nationalhydroassoc.bsky.social @orionehydropower.bsky.social
- Anthony Basooma attended the AquaINFRA project workshop at Oulu University Finland Focusing on open-access datasets like Hydrography90m, WORLDCLIM, GBIF, and FishBase in addressing threats to freshwater biodiversity. #Biodiversity #AquaINFRA #OpenScience #FreshwaterEcology #Research #BOKU #IHG
- Dams and river barriers have long disrupted aquatic ecosystems, but how have they shaped river connectivity over time? In this interesting study, Johannes Kowal and coauthors explored how barriers impacted Austria’s river habitats since the early 20th century: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
- Would you like to know more about the effect of dams on riverine ecosystems outside Europe? This new paper offers an interesting reading taking the case study of the Nile River Basin: doi.org/10.1371/jour...
- Wrapping up #EGU25 with a big congratulations to our incredible team for their great presentations! 🎉👏 Keep up the fantastic work! 🌍💧
- More from #EGU25! 🌍 Our team shared insights in oral sessions on floodplain connectivity, biogeochemical dynamics and greenhouse gas emissions from tropical groundwater-fed springs, and stream metabolism drivers in human-impacted mountainous streams of Uganda 💧✨
- This week, our team presented at #EGU! Kicking off with poster sessions on ecosystem dynamics and sediment transport in the Danube River and tributaries, and human impacts on tropical urban rivers and wetlands.
- Exciting news! We started this week with a new paper out dealing with the effect of hydropower dams on river connectivity in the Nile River Basin. Congratulations Anthony Basooma and co-authors 🎉 doi.org/10.1371/jour...
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- Congrats to Johannes Schützenhofer & Massimiliano Sigfrido Grisorio on successfully completing their bachelor’s thesis! Supervised by Johannes Kowal & Thomas Hein, their research explores barriers & fish migration aids in the Austrian Danube system over time 🐟🌊
- We end this week with more exciting news! Peter Bader successfully defended his master's research on eDNA analyses on amphibian metacommunities in floodplains. This research explored innovative methods in dynamic ecosystems. Congratulations 🎉💧🐸🏞️
- Exciting news! Please join us in congratulating Sonia Recinos Brizuela on becoming the newest doctor on our team! She successfully defended her PhD thesis titled "Network-based approaches to assess restoration of water-mediated connectivity in floodplains". An outstanding achievement! #iconn.network
- We participated in the BOKU event #BiodiversityDays25! Our colleagues Thomas Hein, Johannes Kowal, and Martin Tschikof shared insights on the ecological future of the Austrian Danube & its tributaries, discussing connectivity trends and highlighting solutions.
