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Bianca Thobor

Institution: University of Bremen, FB 02, Marine Ecology
Office: UFT, room 2170
Phone: +49 421 218 63358
E-mail: [Bitte aktivieren Sie Javascript]
Other webpage(s): Bianca's working group web page

 

Bianca Thobor

PhD Project

Effects of global and local anthropogenic stressors on coral-algae interactions through exometabolomes

Global ocean warming and local eutrophication are two main anthropogenic stressors affecting coral reefs worldwide. Coral decline has been particularly severe in the Caribbean, with region-wide shifts from coral to algal dominance over the past decades. Therefore, I aim to investigate the interactions between benthic reef corals and algae under coastal eutrophication and warming on reefs around Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles.

Previous studies found that benthic reef algae release exudates with higher bioavailability to bacterioplankton than corals. Thus, increased algal cover can lead to reef microbialization, a process that supports reef degradation. Changing environmental conditions can lead to changes in the quality and quantity of exudates released by benthic primary producers, which may also affect the reef bacterioplankton. I am planning to specifically investigate the effects of global and local anthropogenic stressors on coral and macroalgal exometabolomes, and further effects this may have on bacterioplankton and benthic primary producers.

I will use laboratory experiments, and in situ incubation chambers to address my research questions. To assess the complex composition of coral and algal exometabolomes, I aim to combine multiple analytical approaches, such as high temperature catalytic oxidation (HTCO), spectral analysis, high performance anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD), and carbohydrate microarrays.

Thesis Committee

Prof. Dr. Christian Wild University of Bremen
Dr. Andreas Haas Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Microbiology & Biogeochemistry
Dr. Benjamin Müller University of Amsterdam, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics
Prof. Dr. Jan-Hendrik Hehemann University of Bremen, MARUM and Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology