SystemLink
RESEARCH TRAINING GROUP 2360GRADUIERTENKOLLEG 2360
SystemLink
Is a research training group with an innovative qualification plan for young researchers who investigates bottom-up and top-down interactions in terrestrial ecosystems propagating from aquatic environments as a result of their exposure to anthropogenic stress.
WHY?
The impact of matter input from terrestrial sources on aquatic systems is well known. The reverse process has received less attention.
We hypothesize that invasive species and micropollutant exposure cause top-down and bottom-up mediated responses in terrestrial ecosystems.
HOW?
PhD students in SystemLink either conduct experiments in unique aquatic terrestrial mesocosm facilities combined with laboratory and field research, or develop and apply process-based environmental models.
WHAT?
SystemLink thrives to increase the knowledge on effect translation across ecosystem boundaries by integrating biogeochemical fluxes and biological subsidies.
HIGHLIGHTS
12 March 2025
Ken Mauser and co-authers have published a study in the Nature magazine Communications Earth & Environment that shows widespread pesticide contamination of the landscape in the Upper Rhine Valley. The research team shows for the first time that synthetic chemical pesticides from conventional agriculture do not remain on the cultivated land, but spread from the lowlands to the Black Forest and Palatinate Forest. The results show contamination with pesticide mixtures throughout the landscape and shed new light on the potential environmental impact of conventional agriculture. Further information can be found in the study and the RPTU press release .
28 Februar 2025
SystemLink PhD candidate Jellian Jamin successfully defended her doctoral thesis. We congratulate her on this great success.
Jellian completed her dissertation on the topic “Implications on riparian zones impacted by invasive plant colonization and copper pollution on ecosystem functions and services.”
13 December 2024
This publication from Victoria Sophie Stoll and co-authors examined the impact of the mosquito control agent Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) on the diversity and community composition of three Chironomidae subfamilies across different micro-habitats. The study found effects on both interspecific and intraspecific diversity, as well as on the community composition of the subfamily Chironominae, while Tanypodinae and Orthocladiinae were not affected. Furthermore, evidence suggests that these effects depend on variation in the micro-habitat. These outcomes highlight the variability of Bti’s impact on Chironomidae communities across subfamilies and micro-habitats, potentially elucidating discrepancies reported in prior studies. Link to the study
Insights into our work
GALLERY
Introduction SystemLink