News

Since January 2026, Prof. Michael Hupfer has taken over as president of the German Society for Limnology (DGL). The DGL is one of the most important national professional associations for research on inland waters and water management. In this interview, Prof. Hupfer talks about his plans for his new role and explains why transdisciplinary professional societies are so important today.

Researchers at IGB have simulated how summer storms change the ecology of deep, clear lakes in the “LakeLab” at Lake Stechlin. They artificially generated a storm in the LakeLab enclosures, which mixed the water column. This brought nutrients, inorganic carbon, and algae from deeper layers to the surface, triggering a mass development of cyanobacteria—known as blue-green algae blooms.

IGB scientist Dr Oleksandra Shumilova was honored with the Caroline von Humboldt Award today. The award, which is endowed with 15,000 euros, is given annually to an excellent female postdoctoral researcher from Germany or abroad as a distinction for her scientific achievements and successes to date and serves to support a research stay at HU Berlin.

A research team from IGB has analysed the zooplankton communities in the White Nile and Blue Nil in Khartoum. It is the first study of plankton in the Sudan Nile since the 1980s and provides an important baseline for monitoring of the river‘s biodiversity in the face of ongoing hydropower dam construction.

A new IGB dossier describes the changes in Brandenburg's landscape water balance and outlines options for action in agriculture, forestry and water management.

Professor Chris Soulsby, researcher at the University of Aberdeen and guest scientist from IGB's Landscape Ecohydrology research group, was awarded the Langbein Lecture of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) for his lifetime contributions to the science of hydrology.

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.

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.