Incident-related special investigation programme for the environmental disaster in the Oder River of August 2022 (ODER~SO)

Documentation of impacts on aquatic organisms and their regeneration as well as precautionary research on possible further toxin waves and on resilience, ecosystem functions, ecosystem services and development scenarios of the river and its floodplains

Short profile

Duration

01.02.2023
30.04.2026
Department(s)
(Dept. 1) Ecohydrology and Biogeochemistry
(Dept. 2) Community and Ecosystem Ecology
(Dept. 3) Plankton and Microbial Ecology
(Dept. 4) Fish Biology, Fisheries and Aquaculture
(Dept. 5) Evolutionary and Integrative Ecology
Programme area(s)
Aquatic Biodiversity in the Anthropocene
Aquatic Ecosystem Services and Sustainability
Dimensions of Complexity of Aquatic Systems
Topic
Contact persons
Martin Pusch
Christian Wolter
Sonja Jähnig
Thomas Mehner

© Martin Pusch

The multidisciplinary project monitors and analyses algal and pollutant loads, documents the status and recovery of populations of multiple organism groups, carries out precautionary studies on potential future poisoning events, and investigates the ecological role of floodplains in multiple development scenarios. The overall aim of ODER-SO is to provide a broad knowledge base for the integrative management of coupled river-floodplain ecosystems, enabling more precise analyses and forecasts of river status that can form the basis for preventive measures against the harmful effects of algal blooms.

Project Website >

Project team at IGB

Sonja Jähnig

Head of Department
Research group
Aquatic Ecogeography

Martin Pusch

Programme Area Speaker
Research group
Functional Ecology and Management of Rivers and Lake Shores

Thomas Mehner

Vice-Director
Research group
Food Web Ecology and Fish Communities

Tobias Goldhammer

Programme Area Speaker
Research group
Nutrient Cycles and Chemical Analytics

Matthias Stöck

Research Group Leader
Research group
Genetics and Evolution of Fish (and other Vertebrates)

Jan Köhler

Head of Department (a.i.)
Research group
Photosynthesis and Growth of Phytoplankton and Macrophytes

Jörn Gessner

Research Group Leader
Research group
Reintroduction of the European Sturgeon to Germany

Sven Würtz

Research Group Leader
Research group
Molecular Fish Physiology

Mark Gessner

Head of Department
Research group
Ecosystem Processes

Markus Venohr

Programme Area Speaker
Research group
River System Modelling

Events

All events
Supported by

Bundesamt für Naturschutz (BfN)

News

Alle News
focus

Two years after the environmental disaster of the Oder

Researchers have compiled and analyzed the key environmental factors that led to the mass development of the brackish water alga Prymnesium parvum in the Oder in the summer of 2022. The data synthesis shows how multiple stressors combined to allow an alga that normally thrives in stagnant salt water to proliferate en masse in a completely atypical habitat. In addition, a study on the quantitative impact on fish stocks in the Oder was published: compared to before the disaster, fish and mussel stocks have been decimated by more than half.
focus

Oder River disaster: What is known about the alga Prymnesium parvum?

In July and August 2022, a man-made environmental disaster occurred in the in the Oder River: a mass die-off of fish, mussels and snails that started in the Polish section of the Oder and then continued downstream until it reached the border Oder. The immediate cause of their death was a toxin-producing (planktonic) brackish water alga, scientifically known as Prymnesium parvum, which was able to grow en masse due to high salinity, high solar radiation, and low water flow. An IGB Fact Sheet summarises the current state of scientific knowledge.
press release

Salt discharges must be reduced and river development stopped to regenerate the Oder River

Today, Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke visited the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) in Berlin to learn about the first interim results of the special investigation programme on the environmental disaster in the Oder River (“ODER~SO”), which has been funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) since February 2023. Fish stocks in the Oder River have declined by 53 to 67 per cent as a result of last summer’s environmental disaster, especially midstream.