News

IGB researchers gave feedback on European energy policy plans.

IGB gives feedback on the EU Call for Evidence.

Hydroelectric turbines put fish at risk of severe injury during passage. To support an informed debate on the sustainability of hydropower, reliable data of turbine-induced fish mortality are pivotal. A team of researchers has now provided a first global analysis. On average, 22.3 percent of all fish passing through turbines got killed or showed severe, potentially lethal injuries.

Scientific memorandum "Energy transition not at the expense of aquatic biodiversity" formulates seven concrete proposals to defuse conflicts of goals between climate and biodiversity protection.

After 25 years, the programme to reintroduce the European sturgeon into the Elbe and the Gironde is now bearing fruit – adult specimens have returned to the rivers for the first time this year. In an interview, IGB scientist Jörn Geßner tells of the obstacles encountered along the way, as well as more fortunate occurrences. And he explains why the task of reintroducing sturgeon into the North and Baltic Seas will continue to be difficult despite past successes.

Researchers led by IGB have summarised and evaluated the scientific literature on recreational ecology in a meta-study. Although all recreational activities can have negative impacts on plants, animals and the environment, they conclude that boat traffic and shoreline use have the most consistently negative impacts. 

The populations of all reptile species and almost all amphibian species have declined over the past 120 years. Amphibians are particularly sensitive indicators of the state of our ecosystems. One of the Red List species experts is IGB researcher Matthias Stöck.

In the latest IGB Policy Brief on the occasion of the 2021 federal elections, scientists recommend that politicians take urgent measures to combat the massive decline in freshwater biodiversity and thus safeguard important ecosystem services.