Susanne Schmidt - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Susanne Schmidt

ARPHA Conference Abstracts

Waterbodies worldwide undergo changes and this influences the ecosystems with the resident commun... more Waterbodies worldwide undergo changes and this influences the ecosystems with the resident communities. Groundwater is no exception. However, few studies have so far focused on how the combined effects from catchment management and a changing climate impact the communities living in the groundwater. In 2019-2021 in southwestern Czech Republic, we sampled fauna and microorganisms in 37 wells that had been monitored by CHMI for up to 40 years and that varied in the trends in chemical and physical properties. The wells tapped the shallow quaternary and deeper aquifers of seven major hydrogeological zones. As expected, more quaternary than deeper wells showed - stronger - trends in physical and chemical properties of the groundwater. The chemical property changing significantly in the highest proportion of wells, i.e. 100% of the wells sampled for fauna, was silica. The trend of silica was increasing in all cases. Faunal numbers were lowest in the wells with the highest silica values. T...

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment

Biological Reviews, 2022

ABSTRACTSubterranean ecosystems are among the most widespread environments on Earth, yet we still... more ABSTRACTSubterranean ecosystems are among the most widespread environments on Earth, yet we still have poor knowledge of their biodiversity. To raise awareness of subterranean ecosystems, the essential services they provide, and their unique conservation challenges, 2021 and 2022 were designated International Years of Caves and Karst. As these ecosystems have traditionally been overlooked in global conservation agendas and multilateral agreements, a quantitative assessment of solution‐based approaches to safeguard subterranean biota and associated habitats is timely. This assessment allows researchers and practitioners to understand the progress made and research needs in subterranean ecology and management. We conducted a systematic review of peer‐reviewed and grey literature focused on subterranean ecosystems globally (terrestrial, freshwater, and saltwater systems), to quantify the available evidence‐base for the effectiveness of conservation interventions. We selected 708 public...

Water Research, 2019

In this study, sources of recharge and contamination in urban groundwater and in groundwater unde... more In this study, sources of recharge and contamination in urban groundwater and in groundwater underneath a forest in the same aquifer were determined and compared. Data on hydro-chemical parameters and stable isotopes of water were collected in urban and forest springs in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, over a period of 12 months. Groundwater transit time and precipitation contribution were calculated using hydrogeological data and stable isotopes of water to delineate groundwater recharge conditions. Hydro-chemical data, stable isotopes and emerging contaminants were used to trace anthropogenic groundwater recharge and

Metabarcoding and Metagenomics, 2018

The biocide Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) is widely applied for mosquito control ... more The biocide Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) is widely applied for mosquito control in temporary wetlands of the German Upper Rhine Valley. Even though Bti is considered environmentally friendly, several studies have shown non-target effects on chironomids, a key food resource in wetland ecosystems. Chironomids have been proposed as important indicators for monitoring freshwater ecosystems, however, morphological determination is very challenging. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of metabarcoding for chironomid diversity assessment and tested the retrieved chironomid operational taxonomic units (OTUs) for possible changes in relative abundance and species diversity in relation to mosquito control actions in four temporary wetlands. Three of these wetlands were, for the first year after 20 years of Bti treatment, partly left Bti-untreated in a split field design, and one wetland has never been treated with Bti. Our metabarcoding approach detected 54 chironomid OTUs across all study sites, of which almost 70% could be identified to species level comparisons against the BOLD database. We showed that metabarcoding increased chironomid species determination by 70%. However, we found only minor significant effects of Bti on the chironomid community composition, even though Bti reduced chironomid emergence by 65%. This could be due to a time lag of chironomid recolonization, since the study year was the first year of Bti intermittence after about 20 years of Bti application in the study area. Subsequent studies will have to address if and how the chironomid community composition will recover further in the now Bti-untreated temporary wetlands to assess effects of Bti. This is important as large areas of both aquatic and terrestrial habitats of the Upper Rhine valley are protected (bird sanctuaries, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites) and comprise of biodiversity hotspots (Biggs et al. 2005, Lukács et al. 2013). However, several studies have shown that Bti non-target effects are possible (reviewed in Boisvert and Boisvert (2000)). Non-biting midges (Chironomidae, Diptera) are the most Bti-sensitive non-target family (Boisvert and Boisvert 2000). Controlled experiments revealed varying mortality rates on chironomid larvae with older larvae

Water

The largest freshwater ecosystem on earth is in the subsurface: the groundwater. It is populated ... more The largest freshwater ecosystem on earth is in the subsurface: the groundwater. It is populated by animals of almost all phyla and by bacteria, archaea, and fungi. Processes on the macro-, meso-, and micro-scale shape this ecosystem. Bioremediation, i.e., the degradation of contaminants, is steered on the scale of micrometers. However, processes that take place on the micrometer scale are still poorly understood and have not been studied extensively. They are usually lacking from models. In this communication, the plea for studying and making models for the processes that take place on the micrometer scale is based on the conceptual model of bottom-up effects of the pore scale environment. Such conceptual models may influence how quantitative models are built by structuring them.

Subterranean Biology, 2014

Distribution of groundwater invertebrate communities in porous aquifers (and their habitats) vari... more Distribution of groundwater invertebrate communities in porous aquifers (and their habitats) varies on spatial scales and many attempts have been made to classify these on various scales. The new data-based approach, presented here, classifies the complex distribution of groundwater habitats on a local scale (i.e. along transects of < 100 m) and merges the latest classification approaches at this scale. Data from a regional (i.e. approximately 100 km 2) biogeographic groundwater survey was analysed in terms of stability of: community structure, different intensities of surface water influence, and occurrence, together with the distribution of stygobites within those groundwater ecosystems. On the investigated local scale, the faunistic communities' composition is mainly depending on surface water influence, coupled with immision of dissolved oxygen and organic matter. Derived from this finding, five types of faunistic habitats are proposed: (I) Stressed groundwater habitats, (II) Stable groundwater habitats, (III) Rain fed groundwater habitats , (IV) Surface water fed groundwater habitats, and (V) Hyporheic habitats.

Journal of Avian Biology, 2018

Species distribution models (SDMs) have become a workhorse to explain, understand and predict dis... more Species distribution models (SDMs) have become a workhorse to explain, understand and predict distributions of birds. However, SDMs at broad scales are typically built using climatic variables, while ignoring the effects of biotic interactions. Although its role still remains controversial, the inclusion of biotic interactions into SDMs could confirm and/or provide new ecological insights of poorly‐known species. We modeled the distribution of the rare South American straight‐billed reedhaunter Limnoctites rectirostris (Furnariidae), a specialist of marshy areas linked to the spiny herb eryngo (Eryngium spp., Apiaceae), which provides the main food and nest resources. To do this, we first modeled the distribution of three eryngo species considered as the main biotic interactors (E. eburneum, E. horridum and E. pandanifolium) and included them into the straight‐billed reedhaunter SDM. Second, we analyzed niche overlap between the straight‐billed reedhaunter and eryngos in terms of en...

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which... more This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Advances in Water Resources

Where a licence is displayed above, please note the terms and conditions of the licence govern yo... more Where a licence is displayed above, please note the terms and conditions of the licence govern your use of this document. When citing, please reference the published version. Take down policy While the University of Birmingham exercises care and attention in making items available there are rare occasions when an item has been uploaded in error or has been deemed to be commercially or otherwise sensitive.

Journal of contaminant hydrology, 2017

Microbial communities are the driving force behind the degradation of contaminants like aromatic ... more Microbial communities are the driving force behind the degradation of contaminants like aromatic hydrocarbons in groundwater ecosystems. However, little is known about the response of native microbial communities to contamination in pristine environments as well as their potential to recover from a contamination event. Here, we used an indoor aquifer mesocosm filled with sandy quaternary calciferous sediment that was continuously fed with pristine groundwater to study the response, resistance and resilience of microbial communities to toluene contamination over a period of almost two years, comprising 132days of toluene exposure followed by nearly 600days of recovery. We observed an unexpectedly high intrinsic potential for toluene degradation, starting within the first two weeks after the first exposure. The contamination led to a shift from oxic to anoxic, primarily nitrate-reducing conditions as well as marked cell growth inside the contaminant plume. Depth-resolved community fin...

The Science of the total environment, Jan 15, 2017

Micro scale processes are expected to have a fundamental role in shaping groundwater ecosystems a... more Micro scale processes are expected to have a fundamental role in shaping groundwater ecosystems and yet they remain poorly understood and under-researched. In part, this is due to the fact that sampling is rarely carried out at the scale at which microorganisms, and their grazers and predators, function and thus we lack essential information. While set within a larger scale framework in terms of geochemical features, supply with energy and nutrients, and exchange intensity and dynamics, the micro scale adds variability, by providing heterogeneous zones at the micro scale which enable a wider range of redox reactions. Here we outline how understanding micro scale processes better may lead to improved appreciation of the range of ecosystems functions taking place at all scales. Such processes are relied upon in bioremediation and we demonstrate that ecosystem modelling as well as engineering measures have to take into account, and use, understanding at the micro scale. We discuss the ...

PloS one, 2017

The acidification of the oceans could potentially alter marine plankton communities with conseque... more The acidification of the oceans could potentially alter marine plankton communities with consequences for ecosystem functioning. While several studies have investigated effects of ocean acidification on communities using traditional methods, few have used genetic analyses. Here, we use community barcoding to assess the impact of ocean acidification on the composition of a coastal plankton community in a large scale, in situ, long-term mesocosm experiment. High-throughput sequencing resulted in the identification of a wide range of planktonic taxa (Alveolata, Cryptophyta, Haptophyceae, Fungi, Metazoa, Hydrozoa, Rhizaria, Straminipila, Chlorophyta). Analyses based on predicted operational taxonomical units as well as taxonomical compositions revealed no differences between communities in high CO2 mesocosms (~ 760 μatm) and those exposed to present-day CO2 conditions. Observed shifts in the planktonic community composition were mainly related to seasonal changes in temperature and nutr...

Environmental Science & Technology, 2015

Biodegradation is one of the most favored and sustainable means of removing organic pollutants fr... more Biodegradation is one of the most favored and sustainable means of removing organic pollutants from contaminated aquifers but the major steering factors are still surprisingly poorly understood. Growing evidence questions some of the established concepts for control of biodegradation. Here, we critically discuss classical concepts such as the thermodynamic redox zonation, or the use of steady state transport scenarios for assessing biodegradation rates. Furthermore, we discuss if absence of specific degrader populations can explain poor biodegradation. We propose updated perspectives on the controls of biodegradation in contaminant plumes. These include the plume fringe concept, transport limitations, and transient conditions as currently underestimated processes affecting biodegradation.

Suitable use of water resources requires a fundamental under- standing of filter, buffer and stor... more Suitable use of water resources requires a fundamental under- standing of filter, buffer and storage functions of soil/water systems. Heterogeneous systems, which include different flow paths (e.g. karst and fissured aquifers and/or multilayered porous media) are of special importance. The aim of this investigation was to assess the heterogeneity of water fluxes and to quantify the transport processes in an aquifer system model. The experiments were performed in an indoor groundwater aquifer system model. Two artificial tracers, bromide and tritium, were simultaneously injected through a fully penetrating well, yielding a 2-D transport process. Mathematical mass transport models based on analytical and numerical methods