Seaweed Biology in changing Polar coastal ecosystems

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Research in the Department Marine Botany, University of Bremen

Seaweeds represent ecosystem engineers of utmost ecological significance providing food and habitat to a vast number of associated organisms. The Department of Marine Botany at the University of Bremen studies ecological and physiological responses of Polar seaweed towards environmental change. We are addressing physiological acclimation patterns under altered radiation, temperature, and nutrient conditions. As the species-dependent tolerance towards environmental (stress-)factors also determines the competitive success of a species in a given habitat, we are also studying changes on the community to ecosystem level. Conclusively, our studies can contribute to predict the future development of coastal ecosystems under global and regional environmental change. In cooperation with the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) our department coordinates the long-term research program on the Biology of Arctic benthic algae at the French/German Arctic AWIPEV research station at Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. Furthermore, we are coordinating the European H2020 project FACE-IT (The Future of Arctic Coastal Ecosystems – Identifying Transitions in Fjord Systems and Adjacent Coastal Areas).

Research topics

  • Mechanisms and limitations of range shifts of seaweeds along environmental gradients (prediction of habitat loss vs. habitat gain, incl. bioinvasions)
  • Impacts of a changing underwater light climate (coastal darkening) on seaweed productivity and depth distribution
  • Physiological bases of local adaptation and competition

Methods

  • Ecophysiology (i.e. Photosynthesis, respiration, pigment & carbohydrate profiling)
  • Environmental monitoring
  • Transcriptomics
  • Species distribution models

Responsible person

Prof. Dr. Kai Bischof, Marine Botany, Universität Bremen & MARUM

Projects we participate in

FACE-IT (The Future of Arctic Coastal Ecosystems – Identifying Transitions in Fjord Systems and Adjacent Coastal Areas). EU Horizon 2020, Coordinating Partner