Culture facilities

Culturing of foraminifera and dinoflagellates is executed in 10 incubators under controlled temperature, salinity, pH and light conditions.

High quality microscopes and EDV facilities assure optimal control and documentation

All sensores used in the culture facilities (temperature, salinity, oxygen, pH etc.) are at regular time intervals centrally standardized to calibrated instruments assuring constant culturing conditions.

Research projects currently running

Growth and physiology of living planctic foraminifera from the Red Sea and Mediterranean.

Foraminifera from the Red Sea and the Mediterranean are cultured under controlled conditions to quantatively determine quantitatively the responds of their physiology to changing environmental conditions. This to obtain insight into the physiological response during recruitment and colonization of new habitats and the adaptation of individual species to extreme environmental condistions such as e.g. temperature.
Parameters that are tested include: respiration and growth rates at different ontogenetic stages as wel as the photophysiology of symbionts.

Cultures available in this project:
Amphistegina lobifera,
Amphistegina lessonii
Lachlanella sp.
Pararotalia spinigera
Sorites orbiculus
Sorites variabilis
Textularia sp.

Morphological variation of benthic foraminifera in relationship to environmental change.

The morphological variation, especially fluctuation assymmetry, of benthic foraminifera that origin from living surface of the German Waddensee (Dorum, Neufeld) are studied under different temperature and salinity conditions.

Cultures studied in this project:
Ammonia aomoriensis T6,
Elphidium williamsonii
Haynesina germanica

Organic-geochemical composition of dinoflagellate cyst walls

To determine the macromolecular composition of individual organic-walled dinoflagelate cysts species, cyst forming dinoflagellates are grown under controlled conditions.

Cultures available in this project:
Lingulodinium machaerophorum
Pentapharsodinium dalei LM13
Pyrophacus steinii GeoB 1010
Pyrophacus steinii GeoB 1014
Gonyaulax spp.

Element and isotopic composition of calcareous cyst-wall of Thoracosphaera heimii.

To obtain inight into the use and applicability of changes in isotopic and elemental composition of the phototrophic dinoflagellate Thoracosphaera heimii, this species is grown under differential temperature and salinity conditions.

Cultures available for this project:
Thoracosphaera heimii GeoB116
Thoracosphaera heimii GeoB148

Dinoflagellate cultures for educational purposes

Cultures available:
Amphidinium carterae M6
Prorocentrum micans M5
Pyrocystis lunula GeoB 148
Pyrocystis lunula EMPCO1
Pyrocystis fusiformis EMPCO2
Pyrocystis lnoctiluca EMPCO3
Oxyrrhis marina M7

Equipment

10 incubators
Imaging PAM (WALZ) and Maxi-Head (measurements on photosynthetic efficiency)
Apogee- Light meter (PAR)
Unisense Micro-respiration Setup
WTW Salinity Meter
Microplate Spectrophotomer (Epoch, Biotek)
Unicense sediment oxymeter with automized micromanipulator