News

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.

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).

Excessive artificial light in freshwater environments has far-reaching consequences for aquatic organisms and entire ecosystems. But what exactly happens to light underwater? 

POUNDER, a project by the two junior research group leaders, Lynn Govaert and Stephanie Spahr, has succeeded in the Senate Committee Competition of the Leibniz Association and will be funded in the Cooperative Excellence Programme from January 2024.

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.

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.

Microplastics can be toxic to various aquatic organisms, but how hazardous can they really be? Prof. Justyna Wolinska's research group at IGB has investigated a water flea that is a keystone species to European lakes. It turned out that this species may be under much higher pressure of microplastic hazards than previously thought.

From a scientific perspective, a misleading story is being told about the detection of low concentrations of the toxin-producing brackish water algae Prymnesium parvum in various waters in Brandenburg (Germany): The interpretation spread in the media with reference to the Landesfischereiverband Brandenburg / Berlin e. V. (Brandenburg Fisheries Association) and taken up by institutions, that this result disproves the correlation between algae growth and salt concentration, is scientifically incorrect.