News

IGB's full commitment to one of the most important German professional societies for water research: Two scientists from  IGB were elected as members  of the executive committee of the German Limnological Society (DGL), and Michael Hupfer will take over as president of the society in 2026. IGB will also host the next DGL annual conference in September 2026.

A river flows steadily, and a lake usually has a consistent water level. However, many of our rivers have been canalised, straightened and regulated for shipping. It's therefore no surprise that we take stable water levels for granted, even in lakes. However, fluctuating water levels are a natural occurrence: streams and rivers sometimes dry up or flood the surrounding land. This creates floodplains along their banks, which are valuable habitats that are constantly changing.

When predators strike, fish need to decide fast: dive or stay? It’s a life-or-death choice, and getting it wrong, whether by overreacting to harmless disturbances or missing a real threat, can be costly. Now, researchers from the Cluster of Excellence “Science of Intelligence” (SCIoI) with Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), have shown that wild fish shoals become not just faster, but better at making these decisions as they grow in size.

Scientists from IGB present long-term monitoring data on water quality of Lake Stechlin in the journal Scientific Data. The team makes this data available to other researchers via IGB's data platform FRED.

Too little rain, too little water in the landscape – so simple, so serious. Even if the drought is obvious because freshwaters carry less water, plants wither and the soil becomes brittle and cracked, the drying out itself is a complex process in which the spatial context plays an important role. Professor Dörthe Tetzlaff from the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) is investigating this interplay of environmental factors, water storage and water flows in the landscape, focussing on the Berlin-Brandenburg region.

Aquatic fungi are among the least researched groups of organisms on Earth. A video project reveals their hidden world.

In an ICPO consultation, the IGB recommends that the salinity of the Oder should be made an important management issue. 

IGB gave feedback in the Call for Evidence on the new EU Bioeconomy Strategy and highlighted the central role of water and freshwater ecosystems.