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For her project ALLES FLIESST (EVERYTHING FLOWS), photojournalist Astrid Scheuermann accompanied researchers from the ODER~SO project at work. Now the photo series has been selected for the 11th European Month of Photography Berlin (EMOP Berlin). The exhibition will take place from 7 to 10 March 2025 at the Retramp Gallery Berlin. 

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 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.

Global change poses immense challenges to our society. To better understand and address these challenges, IGB has launched a new, visionary programme area. This initiative represents an important strategic development within an extraordinary item of expenditure.

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

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).

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.