In this blog post, Carolina Honert is recommending the ARTE documentary ‘How Chemical Giants Destroyed our Ecosystem’.
Continue readingARTE documentary ‘How Chemical Giants Destroyed our Ecosystem’
Unveiling the Hidden Sources of Plastic Pollution: Shedding Light on Overlooked Microplastics and Novel Plastic Forms
The impact of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems has received substantial attention. However, there are emerging concerns regarding overlooked sources and novel forms of plastic pollution that have remained largely unexplored. This blog post covers the Special Issue of – ‘Frontiers in Marine Science’ , which sheds light on these hidden sources of plastic pollution.
Continue readingBeyond the classroom: 1st semester ends on the field
In May 2023, a group of M.Sc. Ecotoxicology students along with Carsten Brühl went to the Ecosystem Research Facility, Eusserthal (EERES) and the Riparian Stream Mesocosms (RSM). This excursion was a part of a module in the study program of M.Sc. Environmental Pollution Management (Ecotoxicology). In this blogpost, Danisa Lione and Hajar Bourassi (student representatives of the 2022 cohort), present some brief details about the excursion and their experience.
Continue readingImpacts of Anthropogenic Stressors on Aquatic Insects and Terrestrial Food Webs
Anthropogenic stressors have a significant impact on the delicate balance of ecosystems such as emergence of aquatic insects, connecting aquatic and terrestrial food webs. These insects act as a high-quality food source for terrestrial consumers, such as spiders. In this blogpost, Sebastian Pietz talks about his latest publication on exploring the potential effects of subsidy quality on spiders.
Continue readingSpiders are exposed to pesticides through their diet of aquatic insects
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.
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