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Researchers from IGB investigated the litter pollution in the River Spree in Berlin and its tributaries. They found that over 95 percent of the waste in the waterways and on the riverbanks is macroplastic. Food wrappers accounts for around one-third of this. In the study published in Environmental Research, the researchers identified waste hotspots and recommended focusing on cleaning certain riverbanks, as this is where most of the plastic enters the waterways.

Researchers at IGB have used long-term data from the Spree River to discover that aquatic plants can compensate for declining water levels in a drier climate. In recent summers, the growth of aquatic plants in the lower part of the Spree has led to an increase in water levels of around 50 to 60 centimetres compared to previous years, thus compensating for the declining discharge. 

Whether a caught fish is released back into the water or removed for consumption depends on more than just the fish species and size. Researchers from IGB have analysed the role of anglers' personal characteristics and the influence of the fishing context in a diary study.

Internal clocks can tick very differently. While some people are most productive in the morning, others are only active later in the day or at night. This phenomenon is known in science and medicine as chronotype. In a comprehensive analysis of the activity patterns of wild fish, a research team involving the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) has shown that fish – carp, trout, zander, and others – also have individual early and late risers. The results were published in the journal Fish and Fisheries. 

Sufficient light, but fewer dead insects – that's what Selux's “Tal Shield: Insect-Friendly Street Lighting” provides. The lighting system, developed with IGB, was awarded the German Sustainability Prize in the “Transformation Products Nature” category. A

In a joint interview, two artists and two researchers discuss why war never really ends, how rivers become 'witnesses' and 'victims', and the universal aspects of individual rivers' fates. These perspectives have been incorporated into the art & science project 'PEACES so far', which will be on display at Berlin Science Week 2025.

A study  of the physical characteristics of the Aral Sea shows continuous mixing of the water layers, which supplies the upper layers with nutrients and the bottom of the lake with oxygen. However, even small changes in water level or transparency (e.g. due to increased algal production) can bring the lake out of balance.

A study in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment has shown that most of the lakes studied worldwide are located in North America, Asia and Europe, with the Global South being severely underrepresented in lake research.