Europole Mer : research consortium on marine science and technology in Brittany

The main aim of our scientific program is to investigate key processes of pelagic ecosystem functioning experimentally. Thereby, correlations of ecosystem functions based on observations can be further strengthened or be replaced by more mechanistic understandings. Pelagic biogeochemical fluxes are the result of individual life histories of pelagic organisms and the analyses of these life histories and their consequences for food web dynamics need experimental investigations. Our investigations address the following research areas:

• The investigation of pelagic trophic cascades and their control by nutrients
• Functional diversity and plankton production and stoichiometry
• Functional consequences of plankton biodiversity under global change
• Mixotrophy and its role for pelagic carbon and nutrient fluxes

The study of the above listed research areas needs experimental setups at different scales, from laboratory microcosm systems to large field mesocosms. To perform such experiments we focus on two tasks:

• Task 1: Establishing state of the art laboratory experimental plankton facilities at IUEM in cooperation with scientists from LEMAR. New imaging PAM instrumentation, Sensor Dish Readers and laboratory micro – and mesocosm facilities including data logging capabilities have been established.
• Task 2: Establishing international collaboration to perform joint mesocosm experiments in cooperation with different research groups from Europe and the United States. A large mesocosm experiment regarding the role of mixing depth for plankton functional diversity was performed in Norway in August 2009 in cooperation with international scientists from Norway and Germany. The project was funded by 6 EC framework program HYDRALAB III. Mesocosm experiments investigating functional consequences of plankton biodiversity under global change scenarios were performed from January to February 2010 at the Institute for Marine Sciences in Kiel, Germany with fundings from the European program MESOAQUA. Recent experiments include a joint European mesocosm experiment in Crete to investigate the role of light availability for mixotrophic processes (MESOAQUA) and experiments to study trophic cascades in marine lakes in Palau, Micronesia in cooperation with local research institutes and researchers from the University of California, Mercred.

Recruitments:

International master students:
Lena Pfefferl, Germany, external Master thesis, April 2010-December 2010. IUEM Topic: Zooplankton effects on phytoplankton stoichiometry.

PhD students:
Vera de Schryver, Topic: Mixotrophy and pelagic carbon and nutrient dynamics (French funding: joint PhD project IUEM with IFM Geomar Kiel, Germany).

Visiting PhD students:
Miguel Angel Ballen Segura, Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Blanes, Spain. April 2010 – July 2010. Topic: New molecular approaches to study algal mixotrophy in situ.

PostDoc:
Dr. Gabriele Trommer, Topic 1: Stoichiometric zooplankton – phytoplankton interactions. Topic 2: Paleoceanography of the Red Sea.

Dr. Maren Striebel

Dr Charlotte Soller