News

Many of the world's clear lakes are deteriorating at an alarming rate: at the shore, where people want to play and swim, the lake bottom is covered with green carpets of algae.

How do hydropower plants affect freshwater biodiversity? What do invasive species do in water bodies? Sonja Jähnig and Christian Wolter  in an interview with Juliane Grüning from the Deutscher Naturschutzring. 

We cannot preach water and drink wine! Consequently, several teams at IGB have begun to analyse and address the different opportunities for savings and improvements in their areas of activity.

Using water fleas, Luc De Meester showed that a population with a high amount of genetic variation can quickly adapt its behavioural and life-history traits to changes in the environment. 

The IGB is also involved in the Leibniz research network "Integrated Earth System Research". Our competencies on aquatic biodiversity and the role of water bodies in the landscape tie in with pressing challenges such as species loss, land use conflicts and urbanisation.

IGB gives feedback on the revision of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD).

Justyna Wolinska and Ramsy Agha study organisms that until now have largely been consigned to the shadows in the scientific world: parasites. In the interview, the two scientists explain why it may be worthwhile to look for the good in what appears to be bad.

Conserving and restoring surface waters and their floodplains takes time and resources. But how can we assess whether a measure is worthwhile? Researchers at IGB recommend that ecosystem services should also be included when evaluating the success of measures in and along water bodies.