News

Researchers need data to generate scientific findings. Two new research methods – culturomics and iEcology – use the internet for this purpose. These approaches offer many opportunities, especially for the exploration of aquatic habitats.

In an interview, Stella Berger and Sabine Wollrab report on the first results from the CONNECT project. They also talk about why it is particularly interesting to work in a multidisciplinary team, and how this benefits the project.

The CONNECT project, coordinated by IGB and involving seven partner institutions, started out in May 2019 with the collection of data. In an interview, Stella Berger and Sabine Wollrab report on the first results, and explain why it is particularly interesting to work in a multidisciplinary team, and how this benefits the project.

It crosses ten countries, running over 2,800 kilometres from source to mouth, is a border river, and has been used as a passage for trade for millennia: the Danube is a veritable transnational river – and a challenge for freshwater management.

Lake Stechlin is known as one of the largest and deepest oligotrophic lakes in northern Germany. However, the condition of the lake has deteriorated increasingly rapidly over the past twenty years – as shown by long-term research conducted by IGB.

The decomposition of plant litter is the second most important ecosystem process in the biosphere. Mark Gessner and colleagues have released a new edition of their comprehensive methods book on litter decomposition in fresh waters.

Landscapes are heterogeneous and often contain patches of habitats – lakes are great examples for such island-like habitats. However, they form invisible networks: metacommunities.

A new generation of scientists is teaching the next generation about lakes and climate change with MANTEL Pieces, a set of twelve short videos for 12-14 year olds.