Southern Palatinate is an agricultural area with extensive wine and vegetable farming. Small streams in this region are frequently contaminated with pesticides due to their location in these intensively used wine and vegetable growing areas. At the same time, climate warming causes increases in water temperatures (both in daily average and maximum values), which results in additional anthropogenic stress on aquatic communities. Due to the stronger water-land connectivity of small streams, as compared to larger rivers, small streams and their floodplain and riparian areas are particularly impacted by these stressors. This has implications for aquatic biodiversity including macrozoobenthos and fish.

This project investigates the combined influence of pesticides and warming water temperatures on the development of minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus) eggs, as well as macrozoobenthos communities and their functions in small streams.

The minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus) is a fish species, whose abundance indicates good water quality in small streams. As minnows spawn between April and August, their spawning period overlaps with the application period of many pesticides. The development of healthy fish populations depends crucially on the survival and maturation of the first life stages. Therefore, the effects of pesticides and the possible influence of increased water temperatures on the egg development of the minnow are investigated simultaneously.

In parallel to the experimental studies, the effects of anthropogenic stressors on the composition and function of macrozoobenthic communities in minnow habitats is investigated, in order to provide an assessment of the evolution of habitat quality under the influence of climate warming.

Third-party funder: Ministerium für Klimaschutz, Umwelt, Energie und Mobilität

Duration: 1/2022 - 12/2026