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When predators strike, fish need to decide fast: dive or stay? It’s a life-or-death choice, and getting it wrong, whether by overreacting to harmless disturbances or missing a real threat, can be costly. Now, researchers from the Cluster of Excellence “Science of Intelligence” (SCIoI) with Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), have shown that wild fish shoals become not just faster, but better at making these decisions as they grow in size.

Lynn Goveart is studying how evolutionary and ecological processes affect aquatic organisms. The work of the IGB research group leader is now being additionally supported for five years by the Leibniz Programme for Women Professors. This is aimed at women in all disciplines who have an outstanding international track record.

IGB has provided feedback on the planned EU ports strategy and emphasised that environmental aspects play a decisive role for resilient ports.

Head out to the lake for a swim, but have you ever wondered what might be swimming, growing or crawling in the water? A catfish recently attacked several people in the Brombachsee, a lake in Franconia. But just how dangerous are these predatory fish? What other creatures might you encounter in the lake? We take a look at the diverse underwater world of animals and plants, from the harmless to the astonishing.

Scientists from IGB present long-term monitoring data on water quality of Lake Stechlin in the journal Scientific Data. The team makes this data available to other researchers via IGB's data platform FRED.

Some organisms can slow their development to withstand wind and weather. This strategy is found in plants, animals, and even microorganisms, both on land and in water.

Too little rain, too little water in the landscape – so simple, so serious. Even if the drought is obvious because freshwaters carry less water, plants wither and the soil becomes brittle and cracked, the drying out itself is a complex process in which the spatial context plays an important role. Professor Dörthe Tetzlaff from the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) is investigating this interplay of environmental factors, water storage and water flows in the landscape, focussing on the Berlin-Brandenburg region.

In an ICPO consultation, the IGB recommends that the salinity of the Oder should be made an important management issue.