Objectives

The overall goal of the “CyaNoServices” project is to increase the security of freshwater support services for biodiversity threatened by harmful cyanobacteria beyond aquatic boundaries, focusing on insect biodiversity and the multiple key ecosystem services they provide to wildlife and human well-being.

To this end, we will address the following 4 main interconnected objectives organized into 4 work packages:

• Obj. 1: To understand the largely overlooked relationship between cyanobacterial blooms and freshwater support for insect biodiversity in real-world ecosystems. We will achieve this goal with an unprecedented field study across climates.
• Obj. 2: Identify specific mechanisms underlying the above linkages found in real world landscapes. Robust conclusions will be drawn using both laboratory and field experiments.
• Obj. 3: Enable quantification of the threat of harmful cyanobacteria to ecosystem services beyond the aquatic boundary. We will generate robust indicators for management schemes and stakeholders.
• Obj. 4: Integrate stakeholders to plan strategic activities and co-design solutions to manage threatened ecosystem services. Based on the Theory of Change, we will employ a stepwise interdisciplinary approach that includes state-of-the-art digital technologies.

General activities

• Field studies linking cyanobacterial blooms to freshwater interecosystem support for biodiversity and insect services in different climates.
• Mechanistic understanding of the impact of cyanobacterial blooms across ecosystem boundaries.
• Synthesis on indicators of freshwater ecosystem service provision.
• Stakeholder awareness, co-design and transfer of management solutions.

Expected results

The results of our research will improve our understanding of the relationship between the occurrence of cyanobacterial blooms and ecosystem services. This understanding is vital for stakeholders. Our project is also very important for the integration of stakeholders in the solution of freshwater security issues, creating a novel case with the help of social approaches and user-friendly technology previously proven successful in the drinking water sector. Strategic planning of our activities through stakeholder engagement from the outset of the project will create a co-creation environment to address practical challenges, have a vision for change and identify impacts. Understanding the relationship between the occurrence of cyanobacterial blooms and the ecosystem services proposed here is not only crucial for stakeholders, but also for current policies and mandatory monitoring plans. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC considers the abundance of cyanobacteria as an indicator of the ecological status of a water body. However, we currently lack knowledge on how such abundance-based thresholds can predict impacts on ecosystem services, let alone freshwater supporting services across the aquatic-terrestrial boundary.

In addition, the WFD only contemplates the monitoring of standing water bodies larger than 50 ha, and therefore does not take into account the importance of small ponds, wetlands and reservoirs, which represent more than 90% of freshwater bodies worldwide. Our project will focus specifically on standing water bodies of less than 50 ha. The EU Drinking Water Directive 2020/2184 and Bathing Water Directive 2006/7/EC also consider mandatory monitoring of cyanotoxins in freshwater bodies, but only for those considered drinking or bathing water. In addition, the World Health Organization provided guidelines on threshold concentrations of cyanotoxins, but only in relation to drinking and recreational use. The results of CyaNoServices will fill important knowledge gaps that are critical for management and policy in support of biodiversity and ecosystem services across ecological boundaries. In addition, our timely project connects strongly with the objectives of the new Common Agricultural Policy, which is central to achieving the European Green Deal, as it considers the protection of smallholder water bodies as part of its enhanced cross-compliance system. This recognition is crucial because it will considerably help to integrate stakeholders, such as farmers and beekeepers, in the management and valuation of the benefits of small water bodies, thus increasing the impact of our project.

Grant PCI2025-163243 funded by MICIU/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 and co-funded by the European Union.