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
Factors influencing submerged macrophyte presence in fresh and brackish eutrophic waters and their impact on carbon emissions
Impact of wastewater characteristics on the removal of organic micropollutants by Chlorella sorokiniana
Enhancing phosphorus removal of photogranules by incorporating polyphosphate accumulating organisms
Restoring gradual land-water transitions in a shallow lake improved phytoplankton quantity and quality with cascading effects on zooplankton production
Monitoring contaminants of emerging concern in aquatic systems through the lens of citizen science
Characterization of lacustrine harmful algal blooms using multiple biomarkers: Historical processes, driving synergy, and ecological shifts
Beyond Daphnia: a plea for a more inclusive and unifying approach to freshwater zooplankton ecology
Anthropogenic activities in the páramo trigger ecological shifts in Tropical Andean lakes
Double‐edged effects of anthropogenic activities on lake ecological dynamics in northern China: Evidence from palaeolimnology and ecosystem modelling
High resolution functional analysis and community structure of photogranules
Trophic rewilding can expand natural climate solutions
Seasonal and habitat-based variations in vertical export of biogenic sea-ice proxies in Hudson Bay
Dammed deltas: Sinking Asian deltas in a warming world
N 2 ‐fixation can sustain wastewater treatment performance of photogranules under nitrogen limiting conditions
Environmental refuges from disease in host‐parasite interactions under global change
Effects of the antidepressant fluoxetine on the swimming behaviour of the amphipod Gammarus pulex
Ecosystem deterioration in the middle Yangtze floodplain lakes over the last two centuries
Dispersal of aquatic and terrestrial organisms by waterbirds
Contrasting effects of nitrogen fertiliser application on the performance of closely related grasshoppers through changes in plant nutrient concentrations
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
Salinisation effects on freshwater macrophyte growth and establishment in coastal eutrophic agricultural ditches
Moving beyond standard toxicological metrics: the effect of diclofenac on planktonic host-parasite interactions
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
Drastic reduction of nutrient loading to a reservoir alters its resistance to impacts of extreme climatic events
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
Phytoplankton responses to repeated pulse perturbations imposed on a trend of increasing eutrophication
Paleolimnological records for tracking dam-induced changes in the composition and supply of sediment to middle Yangtze floodplain lakes
Eutrophication has a greater influence on floodplain lake carbon cycling than dam installation across the middle Yangtze region
Dietary expansion facilitates the persistence of a large frugivore in fragmented tropical forests
Impacts of sediment resuspension on phytoplankton biomass production and trophic transfer: Implications for shallow lake restoration
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
Making waves: Lessons learned from the COVID-19 anthropause in the Netherlands on urban aquatic ecosystem services provisioning and management
The role of organic nutrients in structuring freshwater phytoplankton communities in a rapidly changing world
Towards climate-robust water quality management: Testing the efficacy of different eutrophication control measures during a heatwave in an urban canal
Towards a good ecological status? The prospects for the third implementation cycle of the EU Water Framework Directive in the Netherlands
A combination of host ecology and habitat but not evolutionary history explains differences in the microbiomes associated with rotifers
Differential effects of elevated pCO2 and warming on marine phytoplankton stoichiometry
Herbivore exclusion and active planting stimulate reed marsh development on a newly constructed archipelago
Exploring desirable nature futures for Nationaal Park Hollandse Duinen
Monitoring biological water quality by volunteers complements professional assessments
Serving many masters at once
Temperature response of aquatic greenhouse gas emissions differs between dominant plant types
Submerged vegetation colonizes behind artificial wave shelter after a 10-year time-lag and persists under high grazing pressure by waterbirds
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
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
A generically parameterized model of Lake eutrophication
An integrative paleolimnological approach for studying evolutionary processes
Methane-Derived Carbon As A Driver For Cyanobacterial Growth
Phytoplankton Growth and Nutrients
The coupling between irradiance, growth, photosynthesis and prymnesin cell quota and production in two strains of the bloom-forming haptophyte, Prymnesium parvum
A Seed Dispersal Effectiveness framework across the mutualism-antagonism continuum
Effects of ancient allochthonous and contemporary autochthonous organic carbon on the growth and reproduction of lake zooplankton
Smart Nutrient Retention Networks
Pollen-based reconstruction reveals the impact of the onset of agriculture on plant functional trait composition
Seagrass ecosystem multifunctionality under the rise of a flagship marine megaherbivore
Green turtles shape the seascape through grazing patch formation around habitat features
Environmental filtering drives assembly of diatom communities over evolutionary time-scales
Impacts of shelter on the relative dominance of primary producers and trophic transfer efficiency in aquatic food webs
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
Large herbivore-palm interactions modulate the spatial structure of seedling communities and productivity in Neotropical forests
Photogranules for wastewater treatment
Removal processes of individual and a mixture of organic micropollutants in the presence of Scenedesmus obliquus
Comment on “Models predict planned phosphorus load reduction will make Lake Erie more toxic”
Reduced fertilization constitutes an important prezygotic reproductive barrier between two sibling species of the hybridizing Brachionus calyciflorus species complex
Urbanization and seasonality strengthens the CO2 capacity of the Red River Delta, Vietnam
Disease-mediated nutrient dynamics
Phytoplankton functional composition determines limitation by nutrients and grazers across a lake productivity gradient
Nationaal Park 3.0
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
First report of Economidichthys pygmaeus (Holly, 1929) (Gobiidae) in Lake Lesser Prespa, Greece
On a razor's edge
Changing water quality and thermocline depth along an aquaculture gradient in six tropical crater lakes
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
Flipping Lakes: Explaining concepts of catchment-scale water management through a serious game
Long-term cross-scale comparison of grazing and mowing on plant diversity and community composition in a salt-marsh system
A critical assessment of the stoichiometric knife-edge: no evidence for artefacts caused by the experimental P-supplementation
The value of novel ecosystems: disclosing the ecological quality of quarry lakes
Cyanobacterial blooms in oligotrophic lakes
Innovative Floating Bifacial Photovoltaic Solutions for Inland Water Areas
Changing elemental cycles, stoichiometric mismatches, and consequences for pathogens of primary producers
HABs under global change: Experimental conditions and approaches
Spatial patterns of weed dispersal by wintering gulls within and beyond an agricultural landscape
Ecological stoichiometry of functional traits in a colonial harmful cyanobacterium
Shifting states, shifting services: Linking regime shifts to changes in ecosystem services of shallow lakes
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)
Stratification strength and light climate explain variation in chlorophyll a at the continental scale in a European multilake survey in a heatwave summer