News
WISER project finished
The WISER project has officially finished with the end of February 2012. No more news will be added.
Hydrobiologia - Special Issue - March 2013
A special issue in the journal "Hydrobiologia" appeared in March 2013, entitled "Water Bodies in Europe - integrative systems to assess ecological status and recovery". It summarises the results of WISER.
read more
New deliverable - Oktober 2012
D3.1-3b: WISER temporal uncertainty analysis for phytoplankton
Deliverables, details and download
More key messages - August 2012
This section summerizes clearly key messages, evidences, implications and further information in a step-by-step overview for different water categories. We have recently added more information and new key messages.
Key messages
All deliverables are now available - May 2012
All the results of WISER are now available. A lot of publiciations are still in the process of review or printing, so stay tuned for more intersting things to come.
Deliverables, details and download
End of WISER project - March 2012
The WISER project has officially finished with the end of February 2012.
For three years, 25 European research institutions representing 16 countries have addressed the assessment and management of rivers, lakes, transitional and coastal waters in Europe.
New deliverables - March 2012
D3.1-4: Guidance document on sampling, analysis and counting standards for phytoplankton in lakes
Deliverables, details and download
D4.1-4: Manuscript on the review of multi- species indicators synthesised with WP results
Deliverables, details and download
D4.4-2 (part1): Testing the adaptability and behaviour of 6 fish indices on a common dataset composed of multiple gears samplings from 8 estuaries and lagoons
Deliverables, details and download
D5.1-4: Guidance on management options and measures of pressure reduction to improve the ecological status of rivers with emphasis on the implications of global/climate change
Deliverables, details and download
D5.2-4: Internet tool (model to assess target loads) for lake managers
Deliverables, details and download
D5.2-6: Synthesis paper on options for lake management to improve ecological status – Resistance to climate change in focus
Deliverables, details and download
D6.3-2: Report and manuscript on the use of BQEs, habitats and ecosystems for detecting human- induced change
Deliverables, details and download
D6.4-2: Report on the differences between cause-effect-recovery chains of different drivers within water categories
Deliverables, details and download
D6.4-3: Final report on impact of catchment scale processes and climate change on cause-effect and recovery-chains
Deliverables, details and download
New deliverables - February 2012
Comparing costs of estuary restoration with biodiversity benefits
A new study has investigated the restoration of a damaged estuary in Spain by comparing the costs of installing sewage systems with improvements in water quality and biodiversity in the area. Long-term benefits, particularly in the inner part of the estuary, increased with investment in sewage treatment schemes.
New deliverables - February 2012
D4.3-2: Manuscript onmethodological approaches to the definition of type-specific reference conditions for benthic macroinvertebrates in transitional waters: the case study of Mediterranean lagoons
Deliverables, details and download
D4.4-2 (part2): The ecological status assessment of transitional waters: an uncertainty analysis for the most commonly used fish metrics in Europe
Deliverables, details and download
D4.4-3: Report detailing Multimetric fish-based indices sensitivity to anthropogenic and natural pressures, and to metrics variation range
Deliverables, details and download
D4.4-4: Report summarising the definitions of reference conditions using predictive models for ecological endpoints for fish in transitional waters
Deliverables, details and download
D5.1-3 (final version): BQEs sensitivity to global/climate change in European rivers: implications for reference conditions and pressure-impact-recovery chains
Deliverables, details and download
D6.2-3: Report from the end-user workshop “Combination of BQEs into a complete water body assessment”
Deliverables, details and download
WISER final project meeting and final conference - Januray 2012
WISER final project meeting and final conference, 23-26 January 2012 Tallinn, Estonia
The final project meeting was scheduled from 23-24 January 2012 and took place in Tallinn, Estonia. It was hosted by our Estonian partner, the Estonian University of Life Sciences (EMU). The meeting was attended by more than 170 scientists and water managers from 20 European countries.
Final conference, photos, presentations
Final project meeting
New deliverable - Januray 2012
D5.3-5: Effects of nutrient reductions in transitional and coastal waters — Synthesis and Guidelines
Deliverables, details and download
Website major reorganisation - December 2011
To make the WISER website more interessting, easier to use, to present our results in a better way, we have reorganized the structure of the website. Also a new section key messages is introduced, to summarize answers to current questions in water management.
WISERBUGS v1.2 released - December 2011
A new version of the WISER bioassessment uncertainty guidance software has been released. The stand-alone tool provides assistance in the calculation of uncertainties due to, for instance, spatial variability in biological sampling, which can significantly influence bioassessment results. Read more and download
New deliverables available - December 2011
D4.4-1 Review of fish-based indices to assess ecological quality condition in transitional waters
D5.3-3 Comparison of mechanistic and statistical approaches for catchment management in coastal waters
Deliverables, details and download
New deliverable available - December 2011
D3.4-2 Changes in size structure of fish assemblages in European lakes along eutrophication and hydromorphological pressure gradients
Deliverables, details and download
WISER publication highlight - October 2011
"Combined approaches to set reference conditions are more useful than single ones"
read more in publication section
WISER publications - October 2011
Publication list: Publications with WISER acknowledgements updated
read more in publication section
New deliverables available - October 2011
D4.2-2: Responses of macroalgae and seagrass indicators to drivers of deterioration
D5.3-2: Shifting reference conditions and boundaries for BQE indicators
Deliverables, details and download
WISER project newsletter - Issue 05, September 2011
Read the latest backround information from the project and about other interessting topics.
More information and download of the WISER project newsletter
New deliverable available - September 2011
D6.4-2: Report on the differences between cause-effect-recovery chains of different drivers within water categories.
Deliverables, details and download
WISER publication highlight - August 2011
New paper: "Zooplankton is crucial! Why its omission in WFD lake monitoring is unwise"
read more in publication section
New deliverable available
July 2011
D3.3-3: Development of tools for the assessment of European lakes using benthic invertebrates: preliminary analysis
Deliverables, details and download
New deliverable available - June 2011
D3.1-3: Report on uncertainty in phytoplankton metrics
Deliverables, details and download
WISER final conference
May 2011
Registration for the final conference in Tallinn, Jan 2012, is now open.
Click here for more information and for registration..
Download conference flyer (1.5 mb, pdf)
New deliverable available - May 2011
D3.3-2: The importance of invertebrate spatial and temporal variation for ecological status classification for European lakes.
Deliverables, details and download
New and updated common metrics fact sheets online
March 2011
One of the important aims of the WISER project is to support the intercalibration process. A first version of the common metrics fact sheets was available end of 2010; since then, most of the common metrics have been updated and new have been added.
6 new deliverables available - March 2011
D3.2-3: Report on the most suitable lake macrophyte based assessment methods for impacts of eutrophication and water level fluctuations
D3.4-3: Guidelines for standardisation of hydroacoustic methods
D4.1-2: Assessment of pigment data potential for multi-species and assemblage indices
D5.2-1: Analysis of applied modeling approaches in the case studies
D5.3-1: Temperature effects on hypoxia and benthic fauna
D6.3-1: Report from workshop on among BQEs, habitats and systems comparisons
Deliverables, details and download
Glossary - Januray 2011
An overview of often used expressions is online.
Common metrics fact sheets online - December 2010
An important aim of the WISER project is to support the intercalibration process. One of the first steps required by the intercalibration guidance is to derive "common metrics", i.e. biological measures created for benchmarking and comparison of national assessment systems. First results are now online.
Eleven PhD fellowships for interdisciplinary research in River Science
Deadline for applications: January 31, 2011
A 3-years Joint PhD programme is offered in the framework of the Erasmus Mundus action by the University of Trento (Italy), Queen Mary, University of London (UK) and the Free University of Berlin (Germany), together with 12 associate partners in 8 different countries and 4 continents, encompassing research centres, private companies and governmental agencies.
Research is multidisciplinary-based at a principal institution with mandatory mobility to a second Consortium partner and one Associate partner. It focuses on the core areas of natural and engineering sciences relevant to the sustainable management of river systems from their headwaters to estuaries, including moprhodynamics, hydrology, biogeochemistry, geomorphology, biology and ecology.
Admission is on a selective basis; the best candidates will be assigned attractive EU fellowships. Successful completion of the PhD programme will be awarded a joint or double Doctoral Degree in River Science.
For any further information concerning the programme, application and selection procedure please visit: www.riverscience.eu
WISER half-time report available online - December 2010
The outcome of the first 18-month period of the project has been summarised in the first periodic report to the European Commission. The scientific extract is now available as 'WISER half-time public report'
Download the report here
New deliverable available - December 2010
Deliverable "D4.2-1 - Review report/manuscript on seagrass indicator potential" is available now.
Deliverables, details and download
New deliverable available - December 2010
Deliverable "D4.3-1 - Manuscript on the responses of existing indicators to different pressures is available now.
Deliverables, details and download
WISER project newsletter - Issue 04, December 2010
Read the latest backround information from the project and more.
More information and download of the WISER project newsletter
Online simulation of conceptual models - November 2010
Simulation of conceptual models is now online available. The conceptual models are used to illustrate the relationships between three common restoration measures (riparian buffer instalment, instream mesohabitat improvement, weir-removal), its effects on instream environmental key variables, and eventually the impact of changing variables on benthic algae, macrophytes, benthic invertebrates and fish.
Online simulation of conceptual models
New deliverables available - November 2010
Deliverables "D3.4-4 - Fish indicators for ecological status assessment of lakes affected by eutrophication and hydromorphological pressures" and "D6.4-1: Biological processes of connectivity and metapopulation dynamics in aquatic ecosystem restoration" are available now.
Deliverables, details and download
WISER website: New pages - new content - October 2010
The website has undergone a major update in the last weeks, we have added a lot of new content. The Results section was extended to give a better overview on the structure and the scientific outcome of WISER.
Mid-term meeting in Debe, Poland - September 2010
The first half of WISER was over in August 2010 — the right time to meet and take stock of the achievements since March 2009. Therefore, altogether 105 WISER scientists and experts from European Geographical Intercalibration Groups met from 6–9 September in Debe, Poland. Situated close to the Narvia River, the government training and conference centre in Debe provided an ideal venue for various presentations and fruitful discussions. One of the interesting keynotes was held by Rick Ziegler, a representative of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, who was talking about scientific collaboration across the continents on a global scale. Read more about this topic and the outcome of the meeting in the December issue of our newsletter
WISER publications
A new page in the RESULTS section of our website will inform about publications with WISER acknowledgements.
Read more: Publications page
WISER project newsletter - Issue 03, June 2010
Read the latest backround information from the project and more.
More information and download of the WISER project newsletter
WISER methods database is online
The WISER methods database is now available on our website.
Read more: Methods database
WISER midterm project meeting
The WISER midterm project meeting is scheduled from 6-9 September 2010 and will take place in Debe, Poland.
Read more: Meetings and Events
New deliverable available
Deliverable D3.2-1 includes an overview of the macrophyte field survey methods which have been developed and applied in Europe to date.
Deliverables, details and download
BioFresh - a new EU funded research project
BioFresh is an EU-funded international project that aims to build a global information platform for scientists and ecosystem managers with access to all available databases describing the distribution, status and trends of global freshwater biodiversity. BioFresh integrates the freshwater biodiversity competencies and expertise of 19 research institutions. WISER is closely cooperating with the BioFresh project.
Biofresh website
New deliverable available
Deliverable D2.2-2 - Guidelines for indicator development
This guidance provides “cook books” for the development of common metrics and assessment systems to be applied for different Biological Quality Elements and water types.
Deliverables, details and download
WISER project newsletter - Issue 02, December 2009
Read the latest backround information from the project and more.
More information and download of the WISER project newsletter
Freshwaterecology.info - Version 4.0 online
Freshwaterecology.info is the database for freshwater organisms in Europe.
You can find autecological characteristics and distribution patterns of more than 12.000 European freshwater organisms belonging to fish, macro-invertebrates, macrophytes, diatoms and phytoplankton. The ecology data feature (amongst others) ecoregional and altitudinal distribution, temperature and stream zonation preference, substrate or microhabitat preference, feeding type, life duration, saprobity and many more. All ecological parameters can be individually combined and queried.
As a first result of the WISER project the Taxa Entry Tool (TET) was developed and implemented in the website. The TET serves to create standardised taxalists according to the freshwaterecology.info taxonomy. It is available for fish, macro-invertebrates, macrophytes, diatoms and phytoplankton.
You will find information on the latest changes and improvements on the news section of freshwaterecology.info.
Workshop "Conceptual Modelling"
A workshop about "Conceptual Modelling" was held 16-18 November at ALTERRA Green World Research in Wageningen (NL).
Read more about the workshop
First deliverables available
The first three deliverables are now available. The following topics are covered:
– Deliverable D3.2-1 includes an overview of the macrophyte field survey methods
– Deliverable D5.1-1 is a report on “Conceptual Models of degradation and recovery”
– Deliverable D6.1-1 summarises the outcome of an uncertainty workshop
Deliverables, details and download
Questionnaire on biological assessment methods
Questionnaire on biological assessment methods used in national WFD monitoring programmes
Member States’ delegates are asked to provide the requested data and submit the questionnaire’s content by email. The information will be collated by the University of Duisburg-Essen (Germany). By April 2010 the descriptions of the national methods can be queried from an online-database accessible via the WISER webpage.
More information and download of questionnaire
WISER field campaign
The WISER field campaign has already started in late spring 2009. Before, project scientists and technicians from all over Europe met at several sampling workshops and technical meetings to develop and harmonise sampling methods and protocols in-line with existing CEN/ISO standards.
Read more about the sampling campaign in our newsletter
WISER project newsletter - Issue 01 July 2009
Read interviews with leading scientists, the latest backround information from the project and more.
More information and download of the WISER project newsletter
WISER information flyer
Get on short overview of the WISER project.
More information and download of the WISER project flyer
WISER kick-off meeting
The WISER kick-off meeting (9-13 March 2009) was attended by more than 100 scientists and water managers from 18 European countries.
Read more about the WISER project kick-off meeting