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We wish you a peaceful end of 2020 and a healthy start to the New Year!

A Nature study with the IGB shows: Europe has some of the most fragmented rivers in the world.  Small transverse structures with an impoundment height of less than two metres account for the lion's share. 

The new IGB Policy Brief shows that an expansion of the River Oder would threaten many species and habitats. The plans violate current EU law and endanger not only the environment but also agriculture on both sides of the River Oder.

Researchers led by IGB developed the European Fish Hazard Index (EFHI) – an instrument for screening the ecological risks of hydropower plants. It takes into account plant-specific effects, but also the sensitivity of the affected fish communities and overarching conservation and environmental development targets.

The foundation stone on the Berlin-Dahlem research campus was laid. The cooperation between Freie Universität Berlin and the Leibniz research institution IGB shall link and strengthen research and teaching on the future topic biodiversity.

As a measure against the COVID-19 pandemic, public life was severely restricted for the first time in March 2020. But, did this also alter light pollution – the brightening of the night sky caused by too much artificial light?

IGB doctoral student Hanna Schulz tells about streambed sediment in motion, and her research visit to the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel.

Researchers need data to generate scientific findings. Two new research methods – culturomics and iEcology – use the internet for this purpose. These approaches offer many opportunities, especially for the exploration of aquatic habitats.