Despite efforts to minimize human impact on rivers, native teleost fish and lamprey species communities in Germany remain threatened. The aim of the study was to quantify current species diversity in the study area, identify the level of deviation from realistic reference conditions, and characterize relevant drivers of diversity loss. Site-specific survey data were consolidated with reference fish community data, and selected...

In the summer of 2015, large amounts of artificial fertilizer containing ammonium nitrate were accidentally discharged into the Jagst River along with water used to extinguish a serious fire. The incident caused a massive fish kill the first 25 km downstream of the spill and impacted fish density along a 50 km stretch of this sensitive and important river. In this study, the long-term effects of the accident on the local fish...

Successful conservation of cryptic species such as representatives of the genus Cobitis presents a challenge for fishery managers. Only Cobitis taenia L. is currently assumed to occur in southwest Germany, where it is classified as critically endangered. Established genetic markers and eDNA analysis identified three Cobitis species in the study area. Cobitis taenia and Cobitis elongatoides were widely distributed in the Rhine...

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is overwhelming the healthcare systems. Identification of systemic reactions underlying COVID-19 will lead to new biomarkers and therapeutic targets for monitoring and early intervention in this viral infection. We performed targeted metabolomics covering up to 630 metabolites within several key metabolic pathways in plasma samples of 20 hospitalized COVID-19 patients and 37 mat...