Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management

📄New paper out: "Responses of Oligochaeta & Chironomidae to connectivity restoration in river–floodplains" published in Restoration Ecology.

Sonia Recinos & coauthors explore restoration impacts on macroinvertebrates & lasting strategies🐛💧
doi.org/10.1111/rec....

Our colleague Anthony Basooma presented his research on how environmental and human stressors drive the diversity of functional diversity of fish at the Society Global Conference for Ecological Modelling in Kashiwa.

Well done and greetings to Japan!

🎥Last Friday, filmmaker Christian Pfabigan filmed one of the final sessions for "The Voice of the Thaya" in Thayatal National Park. Ronald Pöppl shared insights on the river’s formation, meanders, human impacts, and sediment research in the Fugnitz River 🌊🍂
www.ukweli.at

Excited to share our new paper from our team highlighting the complex interactions between hydrological alterations and phytoplankton microbial communities. @Thomas Hein, @Olena Bilous rdcu.be/eLWCm

In our next webinar, the EU-funded project @futurelakes.bsky.social will be introduced. This project builds upon MERLIN, adapting and refining many of the component building blocks needed to enable successful freshwater restoration.

📅 𝗡𝗼𝘃 𝟯, 𝟭𝟱:𝟬𝟬-𝟭𝟲:𝟬𝟬 𝗖𝗘𝗧
✍️ project-merlin.eu/webinars.html

Save the Date! Am 13. November 2025 findet der 11. @bokuvienna.bsky.social Nachhaltigkeitstag statt, unter dem Motto „Renaturierung & Biodiversität“.
📍 Eintritt frei – keine Anmeldung erforderlich.
➡️ Alle Infos unter short.boku.ac.at/nht2025
#BOKUNachhaltigkeitstag #Renaturierung #Biodiversität

Scientists: Climate Neutrality is Europe’s Greatest Economic Chance Open letter by Scientists: Climate Neutrality is Europe’s Greatest Economic Opportunity Release plan: 20.10.2025Addressees: Heads of states and governments Reasoning: ahead of the voting on 23.10.20...

Members of #S4F have prepared an open letter calling on EU policymakers to stick to science, adhere to the Paris Agreement, and adopt an ambitious GHG reduction target of 90–95% by 2040.

🔗 Read the letter and join as a signatory by 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟮𝟬 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱, 𝟵:𝟬𝟬 𝗖𝗘𝗧: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

YouTube video by Christian Doppler Forschungsgesellschaft CDG-Science-Slam 2025: Flusslandschaften: Herausforderungen und Lösungen

🐟Ever wondered what life’s like for a fish in the Danube?

Watch our short video, exploring how dams, river regulation, floodplain disconnection, and ship traffic impact ecosystems. Presented by Johannes Kowal at the #CDLMERI 30-year anniversary!
www.youtube.com/shorts/JUzUx...

PhD Position | Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗣𝗵𝗗 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻! 🤓 Starting Jan 2026, we're investigating how aquatic #macrophytes help lowland rivers cope with rising temperatures. Key goals: 🌱 Measure how macrophytes buffer water temperat...

🌍PhD Opportunity in Freshwater Ecology!

Join the FWF-funded project “Global warming effects on macrophytes’ role in lowland rivers (MARITE)”. Explore how macrophytes buffer water temperature & support ecosystem functions under climate change.
🔗Apply now: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Jane Goodall, Eminent Primatologist Who Chronicled the Lives of Chimps, Dies at 91

RIP 🤍

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/o...

Spezialist:in Hydrologie (Wien) Wir haben das Wasser im Blick: Von der Messung über die Auswertung bis zum Online-Service. Bewirb dich und unterstütze unser Team in Wien!

The Austrian waterway company #viadonau is looking for a Hydrology Specialist with strong expertise in the field. Fluent German and English skills are essential: karriere.viadonau.org/offene-stell...

Analysis of the Possible Cause of Fish Die - Neretva.docx Mass Fish Die-Off Below Ulog Hydropower Plant (September 2025) – Urgent Call for Immediate Investigation and Environmental Impact Review On 12 September 2025, a large-scale fish die-off was observed i...

Scientists for Balkan Rivers have issued an #OpenLetter to the Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and other relevant bodies on the mass fish kill at the #Neretva River. Read the letter here:
docs.google.com/document/d/1...

⚠️ Sign until 𝟮𝟱.𝟬𝟵.𝟮𝟱.

Ronald Poeppl shared insights on the DANSER project and sustainable sediment management in the Upper Danube at the Regional Conference of the International Association of Geomorphologists in Romania🌍🌊

Ronald Poeppl shared insights from the DANube Sediment Restoration (DANSER) project in the Upper Danube with his talk, "Towards deployment and upscaling of sustainable sediment management across the Danube," at the Conference Geographies of a Changing Europe (EUGEO)

Ship-induced waves and habitat fragmentation from dams are key pressures on rivers. At the German Society of Limnology-DGL annual meeting in Frankfurt, Anna-Lisa Dittrich & Johannes Kowal shared research findings and mitigation strategies, sparking great discussions at the Senckenberg Museum dinner🌊

YouTube video by Danubius Communications DANUBIUS-RI Upper Danube Supersite

Check out this video about our Supersite within the DANUBIUS Research Infrastructure Consortium (#ERIC), showcasing the Austrian partners and the ongoing and planned research efforts. Thanks to a great team and many colleagues who contributed video content!

The EU-project @danubelifelines.bsky.social officially launches its 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 – a unique opportunity for regions across Europe to receive funding for activities supporting migratory fish habitats and river connectivity: www.danubelifelines.eu/associated-r...

📅 Deadline: 31.12.2025

Mit Bundesminister Peter Hanke zu den Hotspots innovativer und nachhaltiger Wasserstraßen-Entwicklung Am 25. August nutzte Peter Hanke, Bundesminister für Innovation, Mobilität und Infrastruktur (BMIMI), die Gelegenheit zu einem umfangreichen Lokalaugenschein auf der Donau östlich von Wien. An Bord de...

“With the Danube projects, we are among Europe’s leaders,” said Innovation Minister Peter Hanke (#BMIMI).

On August 25, he visited key project sites east of Vienna, including Dynamic LIFE Lines Danube and fish monitoring by the BOKU-CD Lab MERI🌊
👉More: www.viadonau.org/newsroom/new...

Our institute plays a key role in DANUBIUS-RI, a European research effort addressing riverine environmental challenges.

Through the "Upper Danube Austria" Supersite, BOKU advances climate resilience and sustainability strategies 🌊

Further information on danubius.boku.ac.at

Kicking off the Sustainability in Hydropower Conference at BOKU University, Vienna!

Our colleagues Johannes Kowal and Anthony Basooma presented their work on how human-made stressors, such as barriers, impact fish population connectivity in the Danube River and across European river catchments. 🌊🐟

Exciting to see Module 2 of the MERLIN Academy now available! 😊 Engaging diverse actors is the foundation for long-term impact in freshwater & wetland restoration. This module provides practical tools and strategies to ensure inclusive participation, alignment of interests, and policy integration:

1st of September means that our webinars are back! It's not too late to register and join us this afternoon:

Automated photo content classification of Instagram posts to identify patterns of human uses in peri-urban protected areas: A case study from Vienna, Austria. Blue and green spaces in cities provide essential ecosystem services to their inhabitants, including recreational and experiential opportunities. Thei…

🌟 New paper out, together with our team from @boku-ihg.bsky.social @boku-ilen.bsky.social and Hochschule Trier/Stoll lab.

Take a look here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

#UrbanEcology #ProtectedAreas #AutomatedClassification #InstagramResearch #ViennaStudy #Teamwork

We're sharing this video as a fun memory from one of our fishing days. | Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management We're sharing this video as a fun memory from one of our fishing days. Fieldwork days can be long and hard. Sometimes it's sunny, sometimes it rains, and sometimes you even regret going to the river t...

New video out! Check it out on our LinkedIn page: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

📢 Offene PhD-Stelle am Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management in Kooperation mit uns.
Im FWF-Projekt:
„Industrialisierung der Donau als sozio-naturaler Schauplatz, 1780–1940“
🔗 boku.ac.at/wiso/isec/jobs
@bokuvienna.bsky.social @boku-ihg.bsky.social

Schiffswellen belasten das Leben am Ufer Ein Ausflug mit dem Schiff oder mit dem Motorboot gehört für viele zum Urlaub oder Sommer am See. Tiere und Pflanzen, die in Uferbereichen von Binnengewässern leben, leiden jedoch massiv unter den vom...

🌊How do waves from ships impact freshwater biodiversity?

Check out this fascinating interview with Christoph Hauer, Thomas Hein, and Anna-Lisa Dittrich, where they discuss how wave action affects aquatic ecosystems and the delicate balance of life in rivers.
science.orf.at/stories/3231...

Cascading effects of land use on ecosystem function in Afrotropical headwater streams - Aquatic Sciences Anthropogenic activities in catchments, such as urban and agricultural land use, negatively impact the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in streams by increasing concentrations ...

New paper out!

In "Cascading effects of land use on ecosystem function in Afrotropical headwater streams," PhD candidate Florence Nansumbi & co-authors examine how human activities disrupt biogeochemical cycles in an Afrotropical watershed 🌍🌊
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Our colleague Ronald Poeppl engaging in outreach for the DANSER project, inspiring young minds by discussing river floods and the role of humans at the "Junge Uni Waldviertel-Vysočina." 🌊👏

The Danube River and The Western Black Sea Coast The Danube River and The Western Black Sea Coast: Complex Transboundary Management is a brand-new volume in the Elsevier Ecohydrology from Catchment t...

📢A new book is out: "The Danube River and the Western Black Sea Coast – A volume in Ecohydrology from Catchment to Coast" is out: www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780443...
Congrats to Prof. Dr. Thomas Hein on this remarkable work!👏

An inspiring week on freshwater science & conservation! Colleagues from our BIGER team engaged with leading experts at the SEFS14 conference in Bolu, Turkey, shared ideas, and explored ways to preserve our vital freshwater ecosystems for the future. 🌊💧