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As part of Berlin Science Week 2024, IGB researchers, artists and the public immersed themselves in the diverse habitats of the Oder and Spree rivers. Four formats offered insights into the fragile balance of ecosystems, the sensitive relationships between species, human responsibility and the unifying power of art and science. On 14 December and 11 and 12 January, you can see, hear and experience extracts from these formats once again.

Gabriela Costea is part of an international team developing concepts for better management of the Danube. In an interview, she explains why communication is so important when it comes to implementing research findings – and why a children’s book can help.

Professor Dörthe Tetzlaff was today awarded the highly endowed Water Resources Award of the Rüdiger Kurt Bode Foundation. The prize, which is awarded every three years for outstanding work on the sustainable use of global water resources, honours Tetzlaff's pioneering research on the interactions between climate, land use, water quality and the ecohydrological processes that control water dynamics in landscapes.

A team of authors has been awarded the BWK Publication Prize for their research into the ecological impact of hydropower plants. The paper, published in the journal WASSER UND ABFALL, provides a comprehensive analysis of how hydropower plants affect the hydromorphology and ecological condition of German streams and rivers, thereby counteracting efforts to revitalise them.

To address the growing challenges posed by extreme droughts, researchers are focusing on ecohydrological processes in landscapes. They show that a better understanding of water storage dynamics at medium scales, i.e. areas between 10 and 100 square kilometres, could help to better predict and secure the availability of water resources, even in times of climate change. We spoke to Professor Dörthe Tetzlaff about drought resilience, the hidden water treasures of our landscapes, and more sustainable land and water management.

The evaluation of different management approaches for macrophytes showed that the "do nothing" option can also be considered when dealing with aquatic plants. According to the study, mass developments of aquatic plants primarily impair the recreational value of a water body, while they are often beneficial for other ecosystem services

A team of scientists collected and analysed water samples at the time. The result, published in Nature Water today, showed that high concentrations of organic micropollutants exacerbated the lethal effects of prymnesin. 

Conservation efforts have led to the recovery of pinnipeds populations worldwide after decades of intensive hunting and culls. However, this positive development has led to conflicts with fisheries, particularly small-scale fisheries, researchers have found.