Yusuf C. El-Khaled

Thanks to the funding by GLOMAR, and the suggestions by my GLOMAR thesis committee, I was able to have an amazing research stay at the IfmB on Isola del Giglio in Italy from August to September 2019.

The IfmB was founded as a private research and educational institution in 1988. The institutes’ mission is to combine research and educational approaches. It has acquired excellent reputation over the last decades regarding its educational capacities. Universities as well as high schools (especially courses with a focus on biology/ecology) have the opportunity to organise excursions to the IfmB on Giglio Island, on which students can study ecological patterns, and develop basic knowledge about the marine environment of the Mediterranean Sea.

This knowledge is transferred to the course participants in two ways: on the one hand the students get introduced to the major dominant taxonomic groups of the Mediterranean Sea through a short lecture and an interactive taxa determination part using (stereo-) microscopes and binoculars. On the other hand, participants of the courses have the chance to actively use their freshly gained knowledge and to spot the organisms in their natural habitat (i.e., sandy bottom, rocky substrate, seagrass meadow, algae habitats) whilst snorkelling in the Bay of Campese, where the IfmB is located. I was assisting during the courses, preparing the organisms and providing technical support with the microscopes.  I also had the chance to use my skills in scientific snorkelling to lead small groups of students through the bay and discover the rich fauna of the Mediterranean Sea together. On top of that, the students conducted small research projects, during which they tried to answer selected research questions. Here, I was also able to provide information and to supervise these research projects.

As pointed out earlier, the institutes’ mission also contains the aim to generate knowledge about the Mediterranean Sea. For this, I was able to join a small team of researchers. We investigated an understudied habitat using multiple data loggers such as Eureka 2 Manta loggers and a variety of HOBO-loggers to collect information about water temperature, light availability, oxygen fluxes, and other environmental parameters. I had the chance to broaden my portfolio of skills using these loggers actively.

All in all, living and working on Giglio Island and in the IfmB was an interesting, inspiring and unique experience for me, especially because of the outstanding location of the IfmB close to the Mediterranean Sea. I especially thank Dr. Jenny Tucek (leader of the IfmB), Reiner and Regina Krumbach, my PhD colleague Felix Rossbach, Alice G. Bianchi and Neele Schmidt for their support during my research stay on Giglio. Furthermore, special thanks to my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Christian Wild here at Bremen University and to GLOMAR for their support before, during and after my stay and for giving me the chance to enjoy this experience.