| |  | 3 | LIPTOX Research group
left to right:
Brigitte Koderbauer, Zahra Changizi, Martin Kainz, Esi Biney, Kati Zifkovits, Mariella Martinz,
Julia Nußbaumer, Sebastian Schultz, Jörg Watzke, Francine Mathieu
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Research interests
- Food web ecology
- Aquatic lipid biochemistry
- Ecotoxicology
- Physiological stressors
- Biomarkers (allochthonous and autochthonous) LIPTOX investigates processes that govern organic matter transfer in aquatic food webs. Its research ranges from the molecular to the community level, with the goal of integrating knowledge from ecological, nutritional, and toxicological disciplines and scales to form a predictive, quantitative, and holistic view of aquatic ecosystems.
Our research combines ecotoxicology with dietary nutrient processes within the aquatic food web. LIPTOX is intrigued by the fact that some contaminants, for example methyl mercury, bioaccumulate in all aquatic consumers, whereas the retention of dietary nutrients, such as physiologically required fatty acids, is species dependent. To better understand how contaminants and dietary nutrients are conveyed and eventually specifically managed through the aquatic food web, LIPTOX examines their pathways from microorganisms to fish in various ecosystems, conducting field and laboratory experiments.
Can allochthonous organic matter sustain aquatic food webs? To test to this current issue of aquatic sciences, we conduct analyses within the Lake Lunz watershed, using bulk stable isotopes (del-13C, del-15N) and C isotopes of fatty acids of terrestrial matter aquatic and organisms of the aquatic food web.
Challenging the prevailing dietary bioaccumulation theorem for MeHg, we examine a) in vivo (intestinal) formation of MeHg and b) the effect of somatic growth-enhancing nutrients (specific polyunsaturated fatty acids) on decreasing MeHg concentrations per unit biomass of aquatic animals (growth dilution).
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Wasser Cluster Lunz