Aquatic Ecology

Our mission is to understand aquatic ecosystems, predict their responses to a changing world, and contribute to a sustainable future.
We investigate aquatic interactions and processes in lab, field and model systems over multiple timescales and actively engage with society to protect and improve the health of aquatic ecosystems.
The complementarity of expertise in the Aquatic Ecology department is our strength. By working together, our diverse approaches provide a deeper understanding of ecological processes and interactions.
Aquatic ecology and climate change
Climate change is placing unprecedented pressures on our streams, ponds, and lakes. We study how longer-term and extreme climate events such as heatwaves, floods and droughts are changing the ecological balance of water bodies. We engage with stakeholders to explore how nature-based solutions can make our water networks and landscapes more resilient to climate change whilst protecting and enhancing biodiversity.

Understanding and restoring aquatic biodiversity
Our fundamental research into rapid evolution of plankton is helping to uncover how species adapt to the changing environment so we can better understand the mechanisms underpinning biodiversity. We also investigate how we as society can adapt by studying sustainable ways to restore and protect water ecosystems through approaches such as rewilding and aim to understand how biodiversity links to ecosystem resilience. To better understand and predict changes in biodiversity, we are developing novel methods for rapid identification of aquatic organisms using DNA analysis to enable more efficient biodiversity monitoring.

Water quality under pressure
Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution are still among the grand challenges for water management and our ecological approaches help to understand, predict and manage their consequences for water quality, including issues such as cyanobacterial blooms, invasive species and degraded food-webs. We use experimental, modelling and monitoring approaches to understand the drivers of water quality and to determine how societies use and interact with water. We investigate how emergent pollutants such as pharmaceuticals and microplastics are changing the structure and functioning of aquatic systems and conduct research into sustainable water treatment methods.

Research support in Aquatic Ecology
Our research assistants have years of experience working in the field and in laboratories, and are experts in aquatic ecology techniques. The team is on hand to support research scientists and students at the NIOO.
Specialist skills within the group include expertise in:
- Flow cytometry and trait identification of phytoplankton
- Water chemistry analysis
- Set-up and operation of experimental mesocosms
- Microscopic identification of zooplankton, phytoplankton and other aquatic invertebrates
- Aquatic plant sampling and identification
- Boat handling and aquatic sampling
- Elemental analysis of waters and sediments
- Chlorophyll and carotenoid pigment analysis
- Operation and maintenance of aquatic sensors
- DNA metabarcoding
- Algal toxin analysis

Experiments across scales: our facilities
Our experimental facilities range from outdoor experimental ponds for investigation of entire ecosystems with their full complexity, to microcosms, chemostats and batch experiments in the laboratory for more focused experiments gaining mechanistic understanding on responses of species, communities, and food-webs. The indoor limnotron facility provides a high level of experimental control at a large scale whilst including natural complexity. A sensor network allows access for remote users to track the conditions in each. We regularly deploy outdoor enclosures or exclosures in the field to allow us to conduct experimental manipulations on site.

Long-term aquatic ecology
In this period of rapid global change, long-term ecological data are vital for helping us to understand how aquatic ecosystems are responding, and the possible consequences for biodiversity, ecosystem services and resilience. Long-term monitoring programmes at IJsselmeer - the largest lake in the Netherlands - help to understand the linkages between nutrient pollution and algal blooms. Sediment core studies can reveal ecologies of the past, covering decades, centuries and millennia to place recent changes into context. Long-term datasets are vital for supporting and testing the development of aquatic ecosystem models.

METS
Applying ecological knowledge for nature-based solutions that improve water quality and valorisation of resources: that is what METS (Microalgae eco-technological solutions) stands for. METS is one of two special units within the department of Aquatic Ecology. METS explores the potential of microalgae-bacteria biodiversity and interactions for ecological and sustainable eco-technologies, providing clean water, valorisation of resources and safe solutions.

AKWA
Aquatic Knowledge Centre Wageningen (AKWA) is one of two special units within the Department of Aquatic Ecology. AKWA translates state-of-the art scientific knowledge into practical solutions for water issues. Stimulated by the growing interest for research valorization in the Netherlands, AKWA wants to put her valuable scientific knowledge into practice.

Medewerkers
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Dr. Suzanne McGowan
- Functie
- Afdelingshoofd
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Prof. dr. ir. Dedmer Van de Waal
- Functie
- Senior Researcher
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Prof. dr. Liesbeth Bakker
- Functie
- Senior Researcher
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Prof. dr. Wolf M. Mooij
- Functie
- Senior Researcher
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Dr. Steven Declerck
- Functie
- Senior Researcher
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Prof. dr. Lisette de Senerpont Domis
- Functie
- Researcher
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Dr. ir. Tania V. Fernandes
- Functie
- Researcher
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Dr. Ellen Weerman
- Functie
- Honorary Fellow
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Dr. Carel Dieperink
- Functie
- Honorary Fellow
Peer-reviewed publicaties
Enhancing the predictability of ecology in a changing world
An experimental test of the growth rate hypothesis as a predictive framework for microevolutionary adaptation
Seed dispersal by waterbirds: a mechanistic understanding by simulating avian digestion
Moving beyond standard toxicological metrics: the effect of diclofenac on planktonic host-parasite interactions
Salinisation effects on freshwater macrophyte growth and establishment in coastal eutrophic agricultural ditches
Elemental and biochemical nutrient limitation of zooplankton
Sentinel responses of Arctic freshwater systems to climate
Microbial community day-to-day dynamics during a spring algal bloom event in a tributary of Three Gorges Reservoir
Impacts of inorganic nutrients on the physiology of a mixoplanktonic ciliate and its cryptophyte prey
What is the pollution limit? Comparing nutrient loads with thresholds to improve water quality in Lake Baiyangdian
Fish grazing enhanced by nutrient enrichment may limit invasive seagrass expansion
Comment on “Models predict planned phosphorus load reduction will make Lake Erie more toxic”
Removal processes of individual and a mixture of organic micropollutants in the presence of Scenedesmus obliquus
First report of Economidichthys pygmaeus (Holly, 1929) (Gobiidae) in Lake Lesser Prespa, Greece
Nationaal Park 3.0
On a razor's edge
Changing water quality and thermocline depth along an aquaculture gradient in six tropical crater lakes
Experimental evidence of rapid heritable adaptation in the absence of initial standing genetic variation
Reply to “Marine abundance and its prehistoric past in the Baltic”
Investing in Urban Blue–Green Infrastructure—Assessing the Costs and Benefits of Stormwater Management in a Peri-Urban Catchment in Oslo, Norway
Reduced fertilization constitutes an important prezygotic reproductive barrier between two sibling species of the hybridizing Brachionus calyciflorus species complex
Disease-mediated nutrient dynamics
Urbanization and seasonality strengthens the CO2 capacity of the Red River Delta, Vietnam
Phytoplankton functional composition determines limitation by nutrients and grazers across a lake productivity gradient
A Seed Dispersal Effectiveness framework across the mutualism-antagonism continuum
The coupling between irradiance, growth, photosynthesis and prymnesin cell quota and production in two strains of the bloom-forming haptophyte, Prymnesium parvum
Impacts of shelter on the relative dominance of primary producers and trophic transfer efficiency in aquatic food webs
Effects of ancient allochthonous and contemporary autochthonous organic carbon on the growth and reproduction of lake zooplankton
In flux: Annual transport and deposition of suspended heavy metals and trace elements in the urbanised, tropical Red River Delta, Vietnam
Diatom community responses to environmental change in Lake Ohrid (Balkan Peninsula) during the mid-Pleistocene Transition
Eutrophication has a greater influence on floodplain lake carbon cycling than dam installation across the middle Yangtze region
High-frequency monitoring enables operational opportunities to reduce the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) load in Germany’s largest drinking water reservoir
The biogeography of relative abundance of soil fungi versus bacteria in surface topsoil
Intrinsic postzygotic barriers constrain cross-fertilisation between two hybridising sibling rotifer species of the Brachionus calyciflorus species complex
The role of organic nutrients in structuring freshwater phytoplankton communities in a rapidly changing world
Making waves: Lessons learned from the COVID-19 anthropause in the Netherlands on urban aquatic ecosystem services provisioning and management
Impacts of sediment resuspension on phytoplankton biomass production and trophic transfer: Implications for shallow lake restoration
Monitoring biological water quality by volunteers complements professional assessments
Submerged vegetation colonizes behind artificial wave shelter after a 10-year time-lag and persists under high grazing pressure by waterbirds
Evolutionary history of grazing and resources determine herbivore exclusion effects on plant diversity
Large mammalian herbivores modulate plant growth form diversity in a tropical rainforest
Towards a good ecological status? The prospects for the third implementation cycle of the EU Water Framework Directive in the Netherlands
Exploring desirable nature futures for Nationaal Park Hollandse Duinen
Temperature response of aquatic greenhouse gas emissions differs between dominant plant types
Differential effects of elevated pCO2 and warming on marine phytoplankton stoichiometry
Serving many masters at once
Herbivore exclusion and active planting stimulate reed marsh development on a newly constructed archipelago
Towards climate-robust water quality management: Testing the efficacy of different eutrophication control measures during a heatwave in an urban canal
Paleolimnological records for tracking dam-induced changes in the composition and supply of sediment to middle Yangtze floodplain lakes
Phytoplankton responses to repeated pulse perturbations imposed on a trend of increasing eutrophication
Dietary expansion facilitates the persistence of a large frugivore in fragmented tropical forests
Methane-Derived Carbon As A Driver For Cyanobacterial Growth
Phytoplankton Growth and Nutrients
Photogranules for wastewater treatment
Large herbivore-palm interactions modulate the spatial structure of seedling communities and productivity in Neotropical forests
Seagrass ecosystem multifunctionality under the rise of a flagship marine megaherbivore
Pollen-based reconstruction reveals the impact of the onset of agriculture on plant functional trait composition
A generically parameterized model of Lake eutrophication
An integrative paleolimnological approach for studying evolutionary processes
Long-term trends and seasonal variation in host density, temperature, and nutrients differentially affect chytrid fungi parasitising lake phytoplankton
A predatory waterbird as a vector of plant seeds and aquatic invertebrates
Microfluidic Impedance Cytometry for Single‐Cell Particulate Inorganic Carbon: Particulate Organic Carbon Measurements of Calcifying Algae
Environmental filtering drives assembly of diatom communities over evolutionary time-scales
Green turtles shape the seascape through grazing patch formation around habitat features
Smart Nutrient Retention Networks
A combination of host ecology and habitat but not evolutionary history explains differences in the microbiomes associated with rotifers
Large wild herbivores slow down the rapid decline of plant diversity in a tropical forest biodiversity hotspot
Measuring the contribution of evolution to community trait structure in freshwater zooplankton
Nature development in degraded landscapes: How pioneer bioturbators and water level control soil subsidence, nutrient chemistry and greenhouse gas emission
‘Floc and Sink’ Technique Removes Cyanobacteria and Microcystins from Tropical Reservoir Water
Removal of cyanobacteria from a water supply reservoir by sedimentation using flocculants and suspended solids as ballast
Cyanotoxins in drinking water supply reservoir (Legedadi, Central Ethiopia)
Coccolithophore calcification studied by single-cell impedance cytometry: Towards single-cell PIC:POC measurements
Virtual Growing Pains: Initial Lessons Learned from Organizing Virtual Workshops, Summits, Conferences, and Networking Events during a Global Pandemic
Interannual and Spatial Variability of Cyanotoxins in the Prespa Lake Area, Greece
The role of microbiome and genotype in Daphnia magna upon parasite re-exposure
Intraspecific variation in multiple trait responses of Alexandrium ostenfeldii towards elevated pCO2
Grazing resistance in phytoplankton
Effectiveness of phosphorus control under extreme heatwaves
Drivers of phytoplankton community structure change with ecosystem ontogeny during the Quaternary
Stratification strength and light climate explain variation in chlorophyll a at the continental scale in a European multilake survey in a heatwave summer
Know your limits: Modelling consumer-resource interactions to derive nutrient thresholds for a sustainable Anthropocene
Characterizing 19 Thousand Chinese Lakes, Ponds and Reservoirs by Morphometric, Climate and Sediment Characteristics
Mitigating elemental imbalance
Unraveling hidden biodiversity: An example of integrative taxonomy applied to the hybridizing Brachionus calyciflorus species complex
Securing Biodiversity, Functional Integrity, and Ecosystem Services in Drying River Networks (DRYvER)
Safeguarding freshwater life beyond 2020
Enhancing ecological integrity while preserving ecosystem services: constructing soft-sediment islands in a shallow lake
Ecological stoichiometry of functional traits in a colonial harmful cyanobacterium
Spatial patterns of weed dispersal by wintering gulls within and beyond an agricultural landscape
Responses of the ecological characteristics and antioxidant enzyme activities in Rotaria rotatoria to UV-B radiation
Changing elemental cycles, stoichiometric mismatches, and consequences for pathogens of primary producers
Temporal dynamics of freshwater planktonic parasites inferred using a DNA metabarcoding time-series
Innovative Floating Bifacial Photovoltaic Solutions for Inland Water Areas
HABs under global change: Experimental conditions and approaches
Tracking temperate fish reveals their relevance for plant seed dispersal
Frugivory underpins the nitrogen cycle
Colonial nesting waterbirds as vectors of nutrients to Lake Lesser Prespa (Greece)
Cyanobacterial blooms in oligotrophic lakes
Shifting states, shifting services: Linking regime shifts to changes in ecosystem services of shallow lakes
Elements of disease in a changing world
Temperature affects carbon and nitrogen stable isotopic signatures of aquatic plants
On-site blackwater treatment fosters microbial groups and functions to efficiently and robustly recover carbon and nutrients
The value of novel ecosystems: disclosing the ecological quality of quarry lakes
Spatial and Temporal Variability in Concentration-Discharge Relationships at the Event Scale
Restoring aquatic food webs bottom-up
Long-term cross-scale comparison of grazing and mowing on plant diversity and community composition in a salt-marsh system
Determining the optimal biomass of macrophytes during the ecological restoration process of eutrophic shallow lakes
In situ fatty acid production supports shrimp yields in diets lacking fish oil and fishmeal
Flipping Lakes: Explaining concepts of catchment-scale water management through a serious game
A critical assessment of the stoichiometric knife-edge: no evidence for artefacts caused by the experimental P-supplementation
Coagulation and precipitation of cyanobacterial blooms
Using freshwater bivalves (Corbicula fluminea) to alleviate harmful effects of small-sized crucian carp (carassius carassius) on growth of submerged macrophytes during lake restoration by biomanipulation