News

Protected areas are meant to preserve endangered species and stabilize ecosystems. But for many European rivers, this protection apparently falls short. This is the finding of a new study in Nature Communications led by the Senckenberg Nature Research Society, in which IGB participated.

A new article in Nature Reviews Biodiversity states, that the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) does not adequately address the issue of migratory freshwater fishes. Of the more than 1,100 migratory species listed, only 23 are freshwater fishes.

Accurately detecting microplastic particles poses major challenges for researchers from various disciplines. A team of environmental scientists has described the methodological difficulties in the journal Nature Medicine and calls for more standardized methods in biomonitoring.

Dagmar Frisch heads the new IGB research group "Evolutionary Ecology and Global Change". We asked her three questions: one about her work, one personal and one to allow her creativity to flourish.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has released its inaugural Green Status assessment for the gharial, classifying the species as "Critically Depleted" numbers-wise and habitats-wise, across its former range. One of the co-authors of the expert assessment is Dr Phoebe Griffith from IGB.

In 2025, the Forschungsverbund Berlin will celebrate a special anniversary: the Marthe Vogt Award for outstanding young women scientists turns 25. In the anniversary year, the award goes to IGB's researcher Dr. Afroditi Grigoropoulou. 

Researchers from the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) are releasing young European sturgeons into the Elbe. This extinct and strictly protected migratory fish is considered an umbrella species, meaning that many other riverine animal and plant species also benefit wherever its demanding requirements are met. 

New impulses for designing water-conscious cities: The Kurt Eberhard Bode Foundation is funding a junior research group led by Dr Maria Warter. She will investigate the impact of human activity on urban freshwater ecosystems and how they can be restored.