News

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.

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.

It is a milestone in European species conservation: Today, one hundred young European sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) were released into the Elbe River near Magdeburg as part of a long-term reintroduction programme and in the presence of the German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke. It is the first sturgeon offspring for the river since 2015. This action is an important step towards re-establishing a self-sustaining sturgeon population in one of Germany's largest river systems.

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. 

Researchers from IGB sequenced the complete genome of the microalgae of the Oder disaster.They also identified the gene sequences that are responsible for toxin formation. This is an important step on the way to an early warning system. The study was published in the journal Current Biology.

In a new Leopoldina statement with IGB participation, researchers recommend the restoration of peatlands and floodplains.

Prolonged rainfall and storm events have caused rivers to burst their banks in parts of Germany. How can we better prepare for such extreme events, and what measures benefit both people and nature? We take a look at the state of the country’s rivers and floodplains and why it is worth rethinking flood protection.