News

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.

In an article in Nature Microbiology, the authors – including researchers from IGB – discuss improvements for the exchange of microbiome data between institutions.

IGB's full commitment to one of the most important German professional societies for water research: Two scientists from  IGB were elected as members  of the executive committee of the German Limnological Society (DGL), and Michael Hupfer will take over as president of the society in 2026. IGB will also host the next DGL annual conference in September 2026.

An international research team recommends a genetic approach for the obligatory measurements under the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). The article has been published in the journal Nature Water.

A comprehensive long-term study in artificially heated lakes in Poland has shown that increased water temperatures and nutrient enrichment significantly influence the composition and diversity of plankton organisms in lakes. These changes could have far-reaching implications for biodiversity and ecosystem functions. This study, led by the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), highlights the importance of considering temperature-nutrient interactions when predicting ecosystem responses to climate change. 

A river flows steadily, and a lake usually has a consistent water level. However, many of our rivers have been canalised, straightened and regulated for shipping. It's therefore no surprise that we take stable water levels for granted, even in lakes. However, fluctuating water levels are a natural occurrence: streams and rivers sometimes dry up or flood the surrounding land. This creates floodplains along their banks, which are valuable habitats that are constantly changing.