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The contraceptive pill is obviously not intended for fish and frogs. However, the hormones in the pill and other pharmaceuticals that are not completely broken down in sewage treatment plants can affect aquatic organisms. This is because the human hormone system is not so different from that of other vertebrates. In fact, the same transmitters and receptors are often involved. The World Health Organisation (WHO) calls these substances or their mixtures endocrine disruptors, and there are regulations to assess and reduce the risk to humans and animals.

In July and August 2022, a man-made environmental disaster occurred in the in the Oder River: a mass die-off of fish, mussels and snails that started in the Polish section of the Oder and then continued downstream until it reached the border Oder. The immediate cause of their death was a toxin-producing (planktonic) brackish water alga, scientifically known as Prymnesium parvum, which was able to grow en masse due to high salinity, high solar radiation, and low water flow. An IGB Fact Sheet summarises the current state of scientific knowledge.

The EU Nature Restoration Law (NRL) awaits its formal adoption within the next weeks. Amongst other goals, the NRL aims to restore 25,000 km of free-flowing rivers by 2030. The NRL represents an important opportunity for the restoration and safeguarding of European rivers, its biodiversity and ecosystem services they provide to people. However, seven central challenges must be anticipated in its implementation, which may compromise its success. 

For many years, IGB research group leader Michael Hupfer has been investigating the impact of opencast lignite mining and post-mining landscapes on the region's water bodies, in particular the River Spree. Now, he has been appointed to the Scientific and Technical Advisory Board “Water Management Measures” of the Lausitzer und Mitteldeutsche Bergbau-Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH (LMBV).

IGB scientist Olga Lukyanova was honoured by the Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin for her master thesis.

The flood situation in parts of Germany is slowly easing. It can be expected that after some weeks the rivers will have returned to their beds. But how wide is a natural riverbed? Under what conditions does flooding become dangerous for us – and is it also dangerous for nature? How can we better prepare for such extreme events and which measures are beneficial for both people and nature? The current flood events make it clear that we need to rethink flood protection.

Jonathan Jeschke, Head of Department at IGB and Professor at Freie Universität Berlin, has been appointed by the Berlin Senate to the Expert Advisory Board for Nature Conservation and Landscape Management.

The Red List of freshwater fish and lampreys in Germany has been updated for the first time since 2009. It shows a clear negative trend over the last 14 years: 21 species have been classified threatened. This means that more than half of the native species are now considered threatened or already extinct. With 10 per cent of fish species extinct, Germany is well above the European average of 2.5 per cent.