Research of the Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group

The research is multidisciplinary (environmental engineering, environmental chemistry and aquatic ecology) and ranges from the laboratory scale (detailed process studies) to the scale of actual ecosystems (field studies). The multidisciplinary expertise of the team comes together in the development of integrated models for ecosystem and water quality management. The research approach thus is quantitative with a strong emphasis on state-of-the-art statistical and modelling techniques. Three main areas of research are identified: 

• The effects of biota on the transport and fate of micropollutants and nutrients
• The effects of substances on the functioning and biodiversity of natural aquatic communities
• The feedbacks between physical dynamics (flow conditions, turbulence) and biota in aquatic systems

Apart from this work on freshwater and marine ecosystems we also study critical transitions in many other systems ranging from terrestrial ecological systems to medical applications. See the SparcS website for more information.