Selected publications

The authors conducted a systematic mapping of the published literature (1908–2021) to provide a global synthesis of the effects of inland navigation on the biotic and abiotic components of freshwater ecosystems. Inland navigation impacts rivers through shipping, infrastructure, and waterway management, causing direct (e.g., waves) and indirect effects (habitat loss, invasions). 

This is a review, synthesizing how megafauna shape ecological processes in freshwater ecosystems and discussing their potential for enhancing ecosystem restoration. Restoring freshwater megafauna can revive essential ecological processes like disturbances, trophic cascades, and species dispersal, boosting biodiversity and enhancing nature's contributions to people.

The authors introduce the concept of novel river landscapes, the limitations of current fish habitat models and opportunities for new models. They outline 3 priority data-driven opportunities that incorporate the novel riverscape concept: fish movement, river behavior, and drivers of novelty that all are integrated into a scale-based framework to guide the development of new models. 

The authors 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.

The "Night Watch" consortium has compiled studies that use satellite images and star observations to analyse how artificial light is changing our night sky and nocturnal environments. Almost 50 per cent of the earth's surface is affected by light pollution, with natural darkness being outshone by a factor of up to several thousand. And light pollution is increasing: 2-10% each year.

The study aimed to elucidate the tradeoffs for the utilization of remote sensing data in limnological studies with an example based on the estimation of chlorophyll a due to its importance as a water quality indicator. Assessing atmospheric correction and product limitations ensures alignment with the limnological study. 

In field experiments the authors investigated why mass developments of macrophytes occur and what the consequences of removing them are. The evaluation of different management approaches showed that the "do nothing" option can also be considered when dealing with aquatic plants. 

In a transdisciplinary study, a research team led by IGB has developed insect-friendly street lighting and tested it in the Dark Sky Reserve Westhavelland as well as in three German municipalities. Tailored and shielded street lamps make the light source almost invisible outside the illuminated area and significantly reduces the lethal attraction for flying insects in different environments.