In our latest blogpost, Alexis P. Roodt talks about his research on how riparian spiders are exposed to water-borne pesticides by feeding on emerging aquatic insects.
Continue readingShould we go the easy way? Realism in decomposition studies
Decomposition of organic matter is a critical function in streams and is important for their food webs. Because of this, organic matter decomposition is the subject of many studies. In this blog post, Verena Schreiner talks about a recently published paper in which decomposition was analysed using different substrates.
Continue readingThe Impact of Pesticides on Biodiversity: A Case Study of Banana Production in Costa Rica
In this blog post, Carsten Brühl is explaining the background and findings of a review produced together with colleagues of the Central American Institute for Studies on Toxic Substances (IRET) at Universidad Nacional (UNA), in Costa Rica that focusses on pesticide use in banana plantations and addresses exposure and effects in environment and human health. The review is the result of a DFG – Conare collaboration funding.
Continue readingAMEO experience: IRET-UNA in Costa Rica – Lukas Reinhard (2022)
In this blogpost, Lukas Reinhard shares his internship experience at the Central American Institute of Studies on Toxic Substances (IRET) of Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica. Students of the Environmental Pollution Management (Ecotoxicology) Program complete an 8-week internship each year, the so-called “AMEO”. The AMEO is performed either at an external university, governmental or industrial research institute where students learn to apply the competences achieved during their study. Students also use this opportunity to travel and explore not only Germany, but also other countries.
Continue readingNeonicotinoids in global surface waters – risks and challenges
In this blog post, Sebastian Stehle presents a meta-analysis on the exposure and risks of the most widely used insecticides in the world, neonicotinoids, for global agricultural surface waters. Although acute risks for aquatic organisms from neonicotinoid exposure appear to be low, risk assessment results also show chronic risks to be of critical concern. Importantly, official regulatory threshold levels (RTLs) determined for pesticide authorization differed widely between countries, indicating large uncertainties and regulatory challenges in defining robust and protective threshold levels for neonicotinoids.
Continue readingMaritime ropes leave behind plasticrusts on rocky coasts
It has recently been discovered that plastic debris can form crusts on intertidal rocks. This phenomenon has been termed- plasticrust, but the formation process and potential plastic sources are unknown. In this study, we show for the first time that discarded maritime ropes are plasticrust sources and that summer rock surface temperature can contribute to plasticrust formation.
Continue readingActually protected? Pesticides in nature conservation areas
In this blogpost, Jakob Wolfram talks about his recent study “Pesticide occurrence in protected surface waters in nature conservation areas of Germany”. In the study, he analyzed millions of records detailing the occurrence of pesticides in surface waters. The study showed that pesticides frequently occur in strictly protected nature conservation areas and could jeopardize their ecological integrity.
Continue readingAvenues for future research to predict the effects of chemicals
Predicting effects of chemicals in ecosystems is complex due to many factors that influence the action of chemicals. Moreover, understanding chemical effects in ecosystems requires the integration of multiple levels of biological organisation such as cells, organs, organisms, whole populations, communities or ecosystems, which is rarely done. In this blogpost, Anke Schneeweiss and her research team provide a framework for how to integrate these levels by delineating connections between different ecotoxicological perspectives.
Continue readingGlimpse of 2022 (Part 2)
In this second installment of the ‘Glimpse of the year 2022’ series, we give our readers a glance of another 3 most visited posts in this year.
Continue readingGlimpse of 2022 (Part 1)
In the first part of the ‘Glimpse of the year 2022’ series, we give our readers a glance of 3 most visited posts about scientific publications in this year.
Continue reading