News

Clonal fish that are reared under nearly identical, highly standardised environments systematically differ in the number and size of offspring per reproduction cycle, two crucial indicators of biological fitness.

Yesterday, at the GEO Ministerial Summit in Cape Town, South Africa, IGB scientist Dr Igor Ogashawara was honored with the GEO Emerging Leader Award. We spoke to him about the award and his field of research.

A research team under the lead of IGB has identified the most important risk species among aquatic pets for Germany and developed a three-step risk assessment method that can serve as a screening tool and as a basis for legislation to restrict future releases of unwanted animals. This is essential, as the study also shows that 97 per cent of the freshwater species sold in Germany are not native.

Researchers from TU Berlin and IGB have studied how the water budget and quality have developed over the last 60 years: Restoration measures between 1985 and 1995 have significantly improved the chemical water quality. But climate change can reverse this positive development: Heavy rainfall and dry periods change the chemodynamics of the river.

Without microorganisms, our ecosystems would not function properly: fungi “predigest” food, parasites keep blue-green algae in check, and water fleas play an important role in aquatic food web dynamics and structure. At IGB, many researchers are working on different microorganisms, studying both the ecology of these organisms and the extent to which they are threatened by climate change and other human-induced changes. While the findings are fascinating, they are also a stark reminder that the diversity of life in our waters is under threat - even the microbes.

Who made the Berlin research region shine this year? The science editorial team of the Tagesspiegel has selected the 100 most important personalities and nominated IGB researcher Christian Wolter for his great commitment to the Oder River.

A team of researchers led by the University of Iceland's Research Center at Snæfellsnes and IGB has now used unusual Citizen Science data from several decades to show that the American mink has decimated the native eider duck in the Brokey archipelago by about 60 percent.

For most pollutants, there are standard protocols for assessing the risks to ecosystems. Despite the increasing concern about the harmful effects of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs), so far, there exist no harmonised guidelines for testing the ecotoxicity of MNPs. An international research team with IGB has now developed protocols to assess the toxicity of these substances in soil and aquatic ecosystems.