BIodiversity and BioGEochemistry of Riverine landscapes

eDNA meets the Danube! 🌊 IHG leads eDNA activities for #JDS5, Europe’s largest river monitoring campaign. Sampling ~3,000 km of the Danube in 3 weeks with 300 samples—a big step for biodiversity protection in one of Europe’s key river systems

BIGER members joined the CEEPUS–EcoManAqua Summer School in Osijek & Kopački Rit🌊

Prof. Thomas Hein lectured on floodplain ecology, and Dr. Olena Bilous on algae ecology. Students Nadija Čehajić & Bhargavi Nerikar gained hands-on experience in biodiversity & conservation

Our BIGER group participated in the 5th I.S. Rivers Conference (June 30–July 4), sharing research that included the topics of network connectivity (E. Bondar-Kunze), shipwave effects (A.-L. Dittrich), river restoration (A. Funk), and fish ecology in Central Asia (D. S. Hayes) 🌊

🌍 Greenpeace data reveals dramatic water loss in Austria’s rivers—15 of 18 studied rivers show declining volumes.

Rising water temperatures and lower summer flows harm river ecosystems. Prof. Dr. Thomas Hein: “We must act decisively now as a society.”

🌊 greenpeace.at/presse/green...

#JDS5 is officially launched! 🌍 Today in Vienna, we kicked off the world’s largest surface water monitoring project! 🔬

At the kick-off-event: the Federal Minister Norbert Totschnig- www.bmluk.gv.at/themen/wasse...

👉 danubesurvey.org

Österreichs Flüsse: Wo Trockenheit auf Hochwasser trifft In Österreichs Flüssen fließt weniger Wasser als noch vor 50 Jahren. Das zeigt eine am Mittwoch veröffentlichte Datenauswertung der Umweltorganisation Greenpeace. Am stärksten betroffen ist der tradit...

Less water, more extremes! Austria’s rivers face climate stress 🌊

Greenpeace data shows falling water levels and rising floods in rivers like the Danube. Ronald Pöppl calls for restoring floodplains, boosting water storage, reducing soil sealing, and sustainable land use- orf.at/stories/3397...

🌍💧 We wrapped up last week with the DANSER second general assembly!
Partners discussed progress and next steps for this groundbreaking project tackling sediment management in the Danube River Basin. DANSER aims to restore sediment balance, improve water quality, and address climate and human impacts

Klimaziel für 2040 könnte gekippt werden

ok, wir kippen also möglicherweise unsere Klimaziele damit es der Wirtschaft jetzt besser geht - opfern dafür aber eine Zukunft, in der wir alle gut leben könnten.

orf.at/stories/3397...

Our new study from Uganda Lubigi wetland highlights wetlands as nature-based solutions in wastewater and stormwater treatment, but are ineffective when overloaded. Congrats to Flavia Byekwaso, Thomas Hein, Gabriele Weigelhofer, and other co-authors. doi.org/10.3390/w171...

Exciting news! Our colleague Paul Meulenbroek delivered an outstanding talk, 'Biodiversity in a Drop: Monitoring Nature with eDNA,' at the 50th Anniversary of IHP & 60 Years of UNESCO Water Sciences.' 🌍💧
#danube4all
#DANUBElifelines
#MERI

New study from Taita Hills, Kenya, shows how small highland wetlands are vital yet threatened ecosystems. The team highlights land-use changes & calls for regenerative farming. Congrats to Sharon Gubamwoyo, Thomas Hein, Gabriele Weigelhofer and other coauthors👏
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Klosterneuburger Au droht die Austrocknung Das Jahrhunderthochwasser im Herbst hat nicht nur in der Gesellschaft Spuren hinterlassen, sondern auch in der Natur – zum Beispiel in der Klosterneuburger Au (Bezirk Tulln). Diese wirkt seither ausge...

Is the Klosterneuburg floodplain at risk of drying out? Follow this interesting interview with our colleagues Thomas Hein and Ronald Poeppl as they discuss the impact of hydroelectric plants and flood events on this ecosystem - and the urgent need for action!
noe.orf.at/stories/3307...

"Urban challenges need natural answers".
At the Biogeochemistry of Wetlands and Aquatic Systems Symposium in Baton Rouge, Flavia Byekwaso shared how wetlands act as nature-based solutions for urban environments.
#BOKU #IHG

Join us to the SUSHP2025!

The 3rd International Conference on Sustainability in Hydropower will take place on the 2–5 September 2025 at BOKU University.

Anthony Basooma attended the AquaINFRA project workshop at Oulu University Finland Focusing on open-access datasets like Hydrography90m, WORLDCLIM, GBIF, and FishBase in addressing threats to freshwater biodiversity.

#Biodiversity #AquaINFRA #OpenScience #FreshwaterEcology #Research #BOKU #IHG

Dams and river barriers have long disrupted aquatic ecosystems, but how have they shaped river connectivity over time?

In this interesting study, Johannes Kowal and coauthors explored how barriers impacted Austria’s river habitats since the early 20th century:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Would you like to know more about the effect of dams on riverine ecosystems outside Europe? This new paper offers an interesting reading taking the case study of the Nile River Basin:
doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Wrapping up #EGU25 with a big congratulations to our incredible team for their great presentations! 🎉👏 Keep up the fantastic work! 🌍💧

More from #EGU25! 🌍 Our team shared insights in oral sessions on floodplain connectivity, biogeochemical dynamics and greenhouse gas emissions from tropical groundwater-fed springs, and stream metabolism drivers in human-impacted mountainous streams of Uganda 💧✨

This week, our team presented at #EGU! Kicking off with poster sessions on ecosystem dynamics and sediment transport in the Danube River and tributaries, and human impacts on tropical urban rivers and wetlands.

Spatiotemporal changes in river network connectivity in the Nile River Basin due to hydropower dams Dams offer indispensable services, including hydropower generation, water for irrigation, and flood mitigation. These barriers disrupt natural river flows, affecting river ecosystems structural and fu...

Exciting news! We started this week with a new paper out dealing with the effect of hydropower dams on river connectivity in the Nile River Basin. Congratulations Anthony Basooma and co-authors 🎉
doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Linker Teil der umgebauten MS Negrelli, die nun an der Wiener Donauinsel als LIFE-Boat4Sturgeon eröffnet wurde

Rechter Teil der umgebauten MS Negrelli, die nun an der Wiener Donauinsel als LIFE-Boat4Sturgeon eröffnet wurde

Es ist Europas 1. schwimmende Stör-Aufzuchtstation & sie wird uns dabei helfen, die letzten 4 Störarten & den einzigartigen Lebensraum der Donau zu erhalten. Das ex-Transportschiff der #viadonau wird nun unter Leitung der @bokuvienna.bsky.social in @wien.gv.at zur Artenschutzbasis. ℹ️ bit.ly/42tHwgB

Congrats to Johannes Schützenhofer & Massimiliano Sigfrido Grisorio on successfully completing their bachelor’s thesis! Supervised by Johannes Kowal & Thomas Hein, their research explores barriers & fish migration aids in the Austrian Danube system over time 🐟🌊

We end this week with more exciting news! Peter Bader successfully defended his master's research on eDNA analyses on amphibian metacommunities in floodplains. This research explored innovative methods in dynamic ecosystems. Congratulations 🎉💧🐸🏞️

Exciting news! Please join us in congratulating Sonia Recinos Brizuela on becoming the newest doctor on our team! She successfully defended her PhD thesis titled "Network-based approaches to assess restoration of water-mediated connectivity in floodplains". An outstanding achievement! #iconn.network

We participated in the BOKU event #BiodiversityDays25!

Our colleagues Thomas Hein, Johannes Kowal, and Martin Tschikof shared insights on the ecological future of the Austrian Danube & its tributaries, discussing connectivity trends and highlighting solutions.

Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management on LinkedIn: #womensday #lena #susi #emily #magda #alex #silke #arbena #lena On #WomensDay, we want to take a moment to highlight and celebrate the incredible work of the women at our institute. What started as an idea has turned into…

On #WomensDay, we want to take a moment to highlight and celebrate the incredible work of the women at our institute. What started as an idea has turned into this beautiful video. We hope you enjoy it and watch until the end! Happy Women's Day 💜 www.linkedin.com/posts/boku-w...

Riverbank restoration MERLIN completed On 11 March 2025, the joint project team from BOKU and viadonau carried out a site inspection to mark the completion of the construction works for the bank restoration in the Hainburger floodplain.

Good news from the MERLIN Case Study 7a: the construction works for the bank restoration in the Hainburger floodplain have been completed! On March 11th, the Austrian Waterway Company #viadonau and @boku-ihg.bsky.social came together to commemorate this achievement. Read more here 👇

🐟🌿 #BiodiversityDays25 – "Together out of the biodiversity crisis" 🌍

🔹 Prof. Hein on Danube ecology & Biodiversity Barometer
🔹 Kowal & Borgwardt on water connectivity
🔹 Dr. Tschikof on Danube fish protection

#Biodiversity #Danube #NatureConservation

Projektabschluss mit faszinierenden Einblicken – Freeze-Core-Proben im Rahmen des Pilotprojekts Bad Deutsch-Altenburg! Am 15. Jänner 2025 waren im Johler Arm bei Hainburg die letzten Freilanderhebungen im Rahmen des Monitorings zum Pilotprojekt Bad Deutsch-Altenburg zu beobachten. Ein Forscherteam der BOKU war mit Hil...

#viadonau shares exciting updates on restoration at Donau-Auen National Park! Since reconnecting the Johler Arm in 2015, macrozoobenthos species have showed proof of "rheophilization" and improved connectivity: www.viadonau.org/newsroom/new...