Functional Diversity and the Key Role of Individual Species

This proposed research area is new to NEBROC and offers a switch into a promising direction of future cooperative research. The added value is that expertise and experimental facilities at Bremerhaven, Helgoland, Sylt and Texel are combined to improve experimental design, data analysis, and teaching in the field of functional ecosystem diversity and species interactions. The research will supplement ongoing projects at the AWI and the Royal NIOZ as to develop a more complete view of how different mechanisms at the level of individuals (defence mechanisms, bio-engineering) impact inter-specific relations and eventually food web structure and export flux.

This research theme will contribute to the educational activities of ECOLMAS by offering two courses: (1) Advanced course on “Tidal Flat Ecology”. Once in two years, alternating between Texel and Sylt. (2) Advanced course on “Predator avoidance strategies in phytoplankton“. Once in two years at Helgoland.