Speaker
Description
Despite covering less than 1% of the Earth’s surface, freshwater ecosystems support a disproportionate share of global biodiversity while being among the most threatened habitats worldwide. Small headwater streams dominate river-network length and play a critical role in maintaining freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. However, these systems remain poorly characterized, creating substantial knowledge gaps for biodiversity protection and habitat conservation. In fact, the official European monitoring under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) primarily targets larger watercourses, potentially leaving extensive portions of river networks insufficiently assessed.
Here, we compare macroinvertebrate data collected through the German citizen-science project FLOW (www.flow-projekt.de) with official WFD biomonitoring data to evaluate the potential of citizen science to complement conventional freshwater monitoring. The FLOW dataset includes more than 400 sampling events across approximately 250 streams distributed throughout Germany over six years, while the WFD dataset comprises more than 20,000 official monitoring records.
Using high-resolution hydrographic data, we assess the spatial distribution of both datasets within river networks, with particular emphasis on stream size and headwater representation. In addition, we compare ecological indicators derived from macroinvertebrate communities, including taxonomic richness and biotic indices related to ecological quality and anthropogenic stressors.
Our study aims to determine whether citizen science initiatives can help reduce current monitoring blind spots and improve the representation of ecologically relevant but under-monitored headwater ecosystems. More broadly, this work highlights the potential of integrating citizen science into large-scale freshwater biodiversity assessment and conservation frameworks.
| Status Group | Postdoctoral Researcher |
|---|---|
| FOR TALKS: Poster Presentation Option | Yes, I’m willing to present as a poster. |