Prof. Dr. Banu Kutlu is a researcher at Munzur University, Türkiye, specializing in freshwater ecology, aquatic biodiversity, limnology, and environmental monitoring. Her research focuses on phytoplankton, diatom communities, freshwater ecosystem functioning, water and sediment quality, heavy metal contamination, and ecological responses to climate change and anthropogenic pressures.
She has extensive experience in seasonal field sampling, aquatic biodiversity assessment, physicochemical and trace element analyses, ecological indices, multivariate statistical analyses, and environmental and human health risk assessment.
Her research covers rivers, reservoirs, high-altitude lakes, and temporary wetlands, particularly in ecologically sensitive freshwater environments. Her expertise can contribute to investigating novel freshwater ecosystems, biodiversity changes, ecological resilience, environmental pressures, and future ecosystem trajectories.
She is interested in interdisciplinary international collaborations integrating aquatic biodiversity, environmental chemistry, climate change, and ecosystem management.
**Proposed Project: Novel Freshwater Ecosystems under Climate Change and Anthropogenic Pressures: Biodiversity, Ecological Functioning and Future Trajectories**
We aim to establish an international research consortium to investigate the emergence, functioning and future trajectories of novel freshwater ecosystems under climate change and anthropogenic pressures.
The project will focus on rivers, high-altitude lakes, temporary wetlands and reservoirs across contrasting European regions, including Türkiye. It will assess changes in aquatic biodiversity, particularly phytoplankton and diatom communities, alongside water and sediment quality, hydrological variability, trace elements and ecological resilience.
Integrating field monitoring, biodiversity indicators, environmental chemistry, spatial analysis and future scenarios, the project will identify drivers of ecosystem transformation and implications for biodiversity conservation and management.
We seek international partners with expertise in freshwater ecology, biodiversity conservation, hydrology, climate modelling, remote sensing and socio-ecological assessment to develop a comparative, interdisciplinary research framework.
We are interested in participating in BiodivFuture networking and matchmaking events, as well as international scientific meetings focusing on freshwater biodiversity, climate change, ecosystem ecology and conservation. We welcome online meetings with potential consortium partners.