Ulisse Cardini

I spent my research stay at the Marine Science Station, Aqaba, Jordan, together with my colleagues Vanessa Bednarz, Nanne Van Hoytema and Laura Rix. During my stay, besides collecting a lot of data which will be the core of my PhD scientific outcome, I was offered with the rewarding opportunity to work in contact with the Jordanian scientific community and to get to know how research is carried out in a different context. Also, living in a Muslim country, I had the chance to get in contact with a different culture and tradition.

During my stay, I performed experiments looking at the effects of increased temperature and nutrients and at the effects of coral bleaching (i.e., the loss of the coral symbiotic algae) on the process of Nitrogen fixation in corals. In these experiments, I was always supported by my collegues and by the staff of the Station. In particular, I would like to thank Dr. Mamoon Al-Rshaidat for his help in designing the experiments and for his constructive suggestions. At the Marine Science Station, I also took part in several seminars during which I had the chance to present my work and receive scientific advice and input from the researchers of the Station.

Data processing is still ongoing and many aspects of my research still remain to be explained. However, I can definitely say that the outcome of this research stay will prove essential for successfully completing my PhD. I am already working on a manuscript resulting from the data collected during the experiments in Aqaba and which will be coauthored with Dr. Mamoon Al-Rshaidat. In summary, this research stay expanded my understanding significantly and gave me the opportunity to create an important data set, while appreciating a different culture and a different way of doing research.

I would like to thank the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology (ZMT) for the financial support for my research stay at the Marine Science Station (University of Jordan), Aqaba, Jordan.