Limnological Review

Floods are natural disasters that cause significant socioeconomic and environmental losses in both urban and rural areas. Within the framework of spatial planning, precautionary measures against flood hazards can be developed using analytical approaches based on different modeling techniques. In this study, flood-prone areas in the Melen Basin, Türkiye, were identified and mapped using five statistical methods, namely Frequency Ratio (FR), Shannon Entropy (SE), Evidential Belief Function (EBF), and the hybrid models EBF–SE and EBF–FR. The analysis was conducted using a flood inventory and environmental datasets covering the period 2019–2024, including elevation, slope, aspect, land use, plan and profile curvature, drainage density, distance to river, curve number, long-term average precipitation, geological formation, soil depth, topographic wetness index, sediment transport, and stream power index. Model performances were evaluated using the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve and the Area Under the Curve (AUC). The results indicate that the SE method achieved the highest predictive performance (AUC = 0.979), followed by FR (0.974), EBF–SE (0.972), EBF–FR (0.968), and EBF (0.966). According to the FR and SE models, elevation, lithology, and slope were identified as the most influential factors in flood occurrence. In the evaluation of the success index of the models, the following values were determined according to their size: EBF–SE (96.0), SE (94.4), EBF (91.8), FR (81.9), and EBF–FR (79.4). In the classification of flood sensitivity maps, Natural Breaks (Jenks) is the most successful method according to the success index. The findings demonstrate that data-driven and hybrid models can effectively support flood risk assessment and provide valuable input for land-use planning and flood risk management.

The designation of 2026 as the World Economic Forum’s Year of Water underscores the growing recognition of freshwater systems as critical to climate resilience, biodiversity conservation, and socio-economic stability. Coinciding with this global initiative, the Polish Limnological Society (PLS) marks its 25th anniversary, offering an opportunity to reflect on the evolving role of limnology in addressing contemporary environmental challenges. Founded in 2001, PLS has advanced integrative research on inland waters, fostered international scientific cooperation, supported scholarly publishing, and promoted societal engagement with freshwater issues. This Perspective highlights society’s contributions to understanding the natural and anthropogenic transformations of lakes and reservoirs, its commitment to open science and education, and its engagement in climate advocacy to address global water security. We argue that the experience of PLS illustrates how sustained, community-driven limnological science can inform policy, management, and public discourse, reinforcing the imperative to safeguard inland waters in an era of accelerating global change.

Determining hematological values is essential to provide baseline health and condition data. We evaluated the hematological parameters of free-living individuals of Caiman crocodilus and Melanosuchus niger from the middle Negro River region of Brazil. We captured 18 C. crocodilus and 16 M. niger. Blood was drawn using syringes containing 10% EDTA, and blood parameters were determined as previously described. The analyzed erythrocyte parameters were similar across the species, demonstrating that, despite their different sizes, they share similar strategies for oxygen absorption and transport in the blood. In the morphological analysis of blood cells, erythrocytes, erythroblasts, thrombocytes, lymphocytes, neutrophils, azurophils, heterophils, and basophils were found, and, in the quantification of leukocytes and thrombocytes, it was noted that lymphocytes are the central cells in the blood of the Amazonian caiman. In the plasma metabolite results, no significant differences were observed between glucose and total protein levels. Key physiological parameters were established to assess the health of C. crocodilus and M. niger, enabling the application of this information to sustainable captive production programs and helping to reduce pressure on wild populations.