Dr. Joschka Wiegleb

How we will develop our environment in future is one of the challenging questions of our time. Sustainable development of aquatic ecosystems requires the development of the ecological, economic, and social aspect. This philosophy is basic for my research. In my PhD project, I worked about the dispersal of the invasive round goby and developed a prototype hydraulic barrier. This barrier might be the solution for a crucial stakeholder problem: Better close fish passes at hydropower dams completely and prevent upstream migration of the round goby into uninvaded habitats? Or better leave fish passes open for all species and accept that round goby continues its invasion? The barrier might represent a cheap and effective solution. During my research, I developed new techniques, such as measuring the direct impact of flow on the fish body (hydraulic forces), developed video tracking analysis, and applied Artificial Intelligence to biological data.