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Without algae, little would function in aquatic ecosystems: they are a key component of the aquatic food web and provide oxygen for respiratory animals. But there is ample evidence that their abundance and composition are shifting as a result of climate change. This often has alarming consequences for the communities that live in rivers and lakes – and for us humans. 

IGB researchers gave feedback in the EU consultation on the GreenData4All initaitive.

The World Meteorological Organisation's (WMO) latest report on the state of the world's climate shows that global warming is accelerating, with a particularly sharp increase in 2024 – and with far-reaching and in some cases irreversible consequences for our inland waters. Rising temperatures and changing water levels are driving new ecological dynamics: oxygen-free zones are expanding in lakes, the composition of species communities is changing and animals are adapting their behaviour – often struggling to obtain sufficient food.

IGB researchers gave feedback on the planned European Water Resilience Strategy and underlined the relevance of freshwater ecosystems.

The Panama Canal is a busy maritime route, with 14,000 ships passing through it every year. But this canal is also a potential pathway for the spread of non- native fishes from one ocean to another. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Freie Universität Berlin, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and Harvard University have now compared the fish communities of Lake Gatun in the Panama Canal aquatic corridor before and after the canal’s expansion in 2016.

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.

A team with Dagmar Frisch has tested a simple and inexpensive method for detecting damaged DNA in permanent eggs of water fleas. This method could also be used for other natural bioarchives.

The largest global assessment of freshwater animals on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species to date has revealed that 24% of the world’s freshwater fish, dragonfly, damselfly, crab, crayfish and shrimp species are at high risk of extinction, according to an analysis published in Nature today. Migratory fish such as sturgeons suffered these losses decades ago and since then little has improved in terms of water management to protect biodiversity. This is emphasized by Dr. Jörn Gessner, co-author of the study from the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB).