News

Today, the second part of the UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP 15) starts in Montreal. In previous negotiations, inland waters have not been given sufficient consideration – even though they harbour a particularly high biodiversity and provide vital ecosystem services for humans. IGB scientists researching freshwater biodiversity provide an overview of this often overlooked topic.

Researchers from IGB and the Adam Mickiewicz University (AMU) in Poznań (Poland) tested whether water fleas (Daphnia) are more frequently infected by the parasite Caullerya mesnili in warmer waters. For the infected water fleas, the disease usually ends fatally.

Long thought to rely solely on photosynthesis, the microbe Prochlorococcus may get as much as one-third of its carbon through a second strategy: consuming the dissolved remains of other dead microbes.

IGB researchers have carried out sample fishing in the River Oder to get a better overview of the remaining fish population after the man-made environmental disaster. The results are very sobering.

How are species richness and the characteristics of running waters related worldwide? This question is being addressed by a team led by IGB scientist Sami Domisch. The researchers have developed the highest-resolution map of the world’s river systems ever produced. The map provides a basis for the detailed analysis of what characterises riverine habitats and how they are interconnected.

Masowy zakwit glonów można wykryć w Odrze za pomocą danych satelitarnych. 

In the Oder River, a massive algal bloom can be detected with satellite data. In close coordination with the IGB, satellite data from the European Copernicus satellite Sentinel 2 were processed.

The night is for sleeping? Not for all creatures: More than half of all animals are active during twilight or at night. The research team on light pollution from IGB, the StadtNatur association and the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) invite you to participate in the "Living Night" photo competition to draw attention to this fascinating diversity and to raise awareness of the importance of protecting nocturnal landscapes. Photograph nocturnal and crepuscular species, find artificial light sources and win great prizes. All information at www.stadtwildtiere.de.