News

The German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), in close cooperation with the IGB research group "Light Pollution and Ecophysiology", has published a new special issue of the journal "Natur und Landschaft" on the topic of light pollution.

This summer, the water shortage in Europe continues to preoccupy politicians and the public. Small standing water bodies such as natural or artificial ponds, kettle holes or park waters are particularly suffering from the lack of water. In order to raise awareness of this problem and to point out options for action for policymakers, authorities and the civil society, IGB has today published a new IGB Dossier on this important type of water body.

An international research team has analysed the state and development of biodiversity in European rivers. As the extensive study shows, development has stagnated after initial improvement; many river systems have not been able to regenerate completely.

Crustaceans such as shrimp are a popular food. Due to the high demand for crustaceans, the majority of those consumed no longer come from the wild, but are farmed on a large scale in aquaculture. However, there is potential for improvement in terms of sustainability and animal welfare. In an interview, Dr Sven Würtz explains why aquaculture practitioners should address this issue with urgency.

Researchers from the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources in Xiamen and the IGB have identified a natural fungus-bacteria consortium that metabolises nitrate particularly efficiently and consistently. This could be crucial for the further development of biotechnological approaches in water treatment and provides further evidence of the important role of fungi in aquatic ecosystems.

Parasites can significantly reduce the food intakeof their host animals. In a meta-analysis, IGB researchers have now quantified that parasitized animals consume on average a quarter less food than their non-infected conspecifics.

The IGB has commented on the draft National Biodiversity Strategy 2030 from a research perspective and is also making the analysis public here.

A team of behavioural ecologists from IGB and the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU Berlin) is investigating how animals hunt in groups. Animals in water hunt differently than animals on land, which is partly due to the different size ratio between predator and prey. One example is striped marlin, which belong to the billfish family. Motivation may play a greater role than dominance hierarchy during resource division, but the large fish get out-competed by sea lions when the two predators attack the same prey.