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Diverse and well-connected habitats in floodplains are essential for maintaining or restoring stable fish communities and high species diversity. This is the result of a study by researchers from Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands and the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB). They analysed the habitat use of larval and juvenile fishes in the lower river Rhine by collecting data on more than 1.4 million larvae and young fish in 18 restored floodplains.

Germany's rivers and their floodplains are important resources for us humans and valuable habitats for animals and plants. However, their ecosystem services are being jeopardised by advancing man-made climate change and the ever-increasing pressure of water use. River revitalisation is therefore an important strategic, long-term investment in the future that should not be put on the back burner by politicians and authorities, even in times of economic and security policy challenges. Researchers from the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) emphas

A new IGB Dossier shows options for action for policy-makers and authorities at the nutrient-polluted Lake Arendsee.

The brackish lagoons around the German island of Rügen in the southern Baltic Sea are known as outstanding fishing areas, especially for large pike. However, pike catches and catch sizes have been declining for several years.  There are many reasons for this: loss of spawning grounds, decline in nutrition, increased natural mortality due to cormorants and other natural predators, climate change and overfishing.

In the vast, open ocean with no place to hide, sardines group together for protection. When they cannot rely on speed to escape, the sardines’ best chance is to outmaneuver the predator altogether. However, predators also seek ways to find weak spots in the group’s defence.

Even deep clear water lakes, which are considered particularly valuable ecosystems, can show signs of eutrophication and algae growth - often for no apparent reason. A new study by four researchers from the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) now shows that the causes are not always to be found in increasing nutrient inputs from the catchment area or in re-dissolution processes in the deep areas of a lake, but also in the shallower areas up to a water depth of around 20 metres.

The Stifterverband has honoured two outstanding Leibniz researchers from Berlin with the ‘Research in Responsibility’ science award. IGB researcher Robert Arlinghaus shares the 40,000-euro prize with Lena Hipp from the WZB Berlin Social Science Center.

Cigarette butts do not belong in the environment. Yet they often end up there, especially near water bodies. A survey by IGB has shown that many of Berlin's waters contain considerable amounts of nicotine, which is also toxic to aquatic life. A new IGB study now shows that some organisms may benefit indirectly: toxic cyanobacteria. This is because cigarette butts in the water harm their parasites. The study was published in the journal Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety.