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  • Programme area:3) Dimensions of Complexity of Aquatic Systems
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Resilient yet vulnerable

To survive as a species, aquatic organisms have developed a wide variety of strategies. Millions of years ago, sturgeons used their bony shells to fend off predators and relocate their habitats, sulphur mollies survive in toxic, almost oxygen-free water, and fish stocks in the River Oder are gradually recovering from the 2022 disaster. However, there are limits to the resilience of organisms, and these can be seen even in the tiniest single-celled creatures.

IGB researcher Jörn Gessner with a young surgeon at the Oder River.
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Hidden crises: underestimated impacts of climate change

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.

A research technician taking water samples at Demnitz Millcreek
short news

When a river flows backwards

The River Spree flows in reverse direction in some sections. Subsequently, water from River Erpe, which contains partly treated wastewater from the wastewater treatment plant Münchehofe, can flow in reverse direction in River Spree into Lake Müggelsee. Such flow reversals, which will likely occur more frequently in the future due to the phase-out of lignite mining, climate change and deviated annual precipitation patterns, pose a challenge for water management.

press release

More connection for more protection: Open polders strengthen the floodplains of the River Oder

Floodplains can store and purify water. A team led by the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), in close cooperation with the Lower Oder Valley National Park, has investigated the role of the Oder's extensive floodplains for the water balance and the turnover of nutrients and pollutants. The results indicate that a permanent opening of the flooding weirs could be beneficial in order to keep at least some of the floodplains in contact with the river for longer periods of the year and maintain their important function.

Flooding weir of a polder in the Lower Oder Valley National Park which prevents flodding during summer.
press release

Shallow water areas are crucial for the nutrient balance of a lake

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.