Freshwater ecosystems are heavily impacted by human activities and climate change. Overall, at least 37% of Europe's freshwater fishes are threatened at a continental scale, and 39% are threatened at the EU level. This is one of the highest threat levels of any major taxonomic group (DG. Environment, 2011). Many species of river fish are in a very poor conservation status and even those that are protected by eg. the Habitats Directive, are not regularly monitored and documentation of the population trend and status is often lacking. A recent great increase in predation pressure has further increased pressure on river fish, even in healthy, restored or least-impacted areas. In the EU, predation may be the main reason for widespread loss of populations of Habitats Directive listed grayling (Thymallus thymallus). There is a genuine and widespread concern among managers and stakeholders regarding protection of wild populations of river fish, as grayling, from unsustainable predation pressure. The conflicts involving fish protection and predation have been intense in most member states for decades and despite protective measures, including culling (Birds Directive article 9-derogations), the conflicts have remained intense. ProtectFish aim to investigate the monitoring and protective measures of Habitat Directive-listed river fish species, answering Area A of the call. We will develop and test protective actions, using cormorants (Phalocorax carbo sinensis) and grayling as a case. Small- and large scale field experiments will be conducted to measure the effect of relieving cormorant predation pressure on fish populations. We will examine the background for the conflicts, by estimating the current population status of cormorants and grayling in EU as well as quantify the culling of cormorants. The results of ProtectFish will directly aid to achievement of EU Biodiversity Strategy, Natura 2000 and the WFD as well as improved adaptive nature management on local levels.

There is growing evidence of rapid evolution leading to entangled eco-evolutionary dynamics. However, we are only beginning to address what this implies for maintenance of biodiversity in nature. Community ecology studies how species diversity is maintained in communities despite negative interactions. Separately, population biology studies how phenotypic and genetic variation is maintained in populations despite selection and drift. These two questions are interlinked, but usually addressed independently, not considering the other level. Intriguingly, genetic variation could help maintain species diversity, and reciprocally, diversity could help maintain variation, forming a positive feedback loop. However, this hypothesis has not been empirically tested in complex ecological networks, because maintaining such networks in the laboratory is a major challenge. I propose to experimentally test this hypothesis using a uniquely tractable network of tropical rainforest Drosophila and their parasitoids (6 fly and 5 wasp species), that I developed to allow multigenerational microcosm experiments. We will manipulate species diversity and genetic variation of all species in a factorial design to test the hypothesis. We will then explore the mechanisms of interactions between diversity and variation, focusing on rapid evolution. To link the findings to natural eco-evolutionary dynamics, we will investigate mechanisms maintaining diversity and variation in the wild. Based on the empirical work we will advance eco-evolutionary concepts of organismal diversity and stability. This project will provide a causal test of the interaction between maintenance of diversity and variation, thus linking two key questions in ecology and evolutionary biology. Uncovering the specific coexistence mechanisms will allow us to predict the importance of diversity – variation feedbacks in other systems with important implications for conservation of biodiversity.