News

Excessive artificial light in freshwater environments has far-reaching consequences for aquatic organisms and entire ecosystems. But what exactly happens to light underwater? 

POUNDER, a project by the two junior research group leaders, Lynn Govaert and Stephanie Spahr, has succeeded in the Senate Committee Competition of the Leibniz Association and will be funded in the Cooperative Excellence Programme from January 2024.

Without microorganisms, our ecosystems would not function properly: fungi “predigest” food, parasites keep blue-green algae in check, and water fleas play an important role in aquatic food web dynamics and structure. At IGB, many researchers are working on different microorganisms, studying both the ecology of these organisms and the extent to which they are threatened by climate change and other human-induced changes. While the findings are fascinating, they are also a stark reminder that the diversity of life in our waters is under threat - even the microbes.

For most pollutants, there are standard protocols for assessing the risks to ecosystems. Despite the increasing concern about the harmful effects of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs), so far, there exist no harmonised guidelines for testing the ecotoxicity of MNPs. An international research team with IGB has now developed protocols to assess the toxicity of these substances in soil and aquatic ecosystems.

Microplastics can be toxic to various aquatic organisms, but how hazardous can they really be? Prof. Justyna Wolinska's research group at IGB has investigated a water flea that is a keystone species to European lakes. It turned out that this species may be under much higher pressure of microplastic hazards than previously thought.

From a scientific perspective, a misleading story is being told about the detection of low concentrations of the toxin-producing brackish water algae Prymnesium parvum in various waters in Brandenburg (Germany): The interpretation spread in the media with reference to the Landesfischereiverband Brandenburg / Berlin e. V. (Brandenburg Fisheries Association) and taken up by institutions, that this result disproves the correlation between algae growth and salt concentration, is scientifically incorrect. 

The German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), in close cooperation with the IGB research group "Light Pollution and Ecophysiology", has published a new special issue of the journal "Natur und Landschaft" on the topic of light pollution.

Trace organic compounds can be attenuated in the hyporheic zone of river sediments. Jörg Lewandowski's research group has now developed a method to study the attenuation performance along a hyporheic flow path in the field. The researchers also analysed the retention of 18 relevant trace organic compounds. They show that high chemical turnover takes place on a very small spatial scale.