Marine Botany

Seaweeds as ecosystem engineers in coastal systems under strain

The Department of Marine Botany at Faculty Biology & Chemistry is part of the MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen and studies ecological and physiological responses of marine algae towards environmental change. Our particular focus is on mechanisms of range expansion and contraction in seaweeds from temperate to polar regions.

We are addressing physiological acclimation patterns under altered radiation, temperature and nutrient conditions. As the species-dependent tolerance towards environmental (stress-) factors also determines competitive success of a species in a given habitat, we are also studying changes on the community to ecosystem level. Conclusively, our studies can contribute to predict the future development of coastal ecosystems under global and regional environmental change.

Current contributions to collaborative research projects include the HorizonEurope project SEA-Quester and the BMFTR projects YESSS (Year-round Ecosystem Study on Svalbard) and sea4soCiety (Innovative approaches to improving the carbon storage potential of vegetated coastal ecosystems).

The Department of Marine Botany contributes to teaching in the Bachelor program of Biology, the international Bachelor program of Natural Sciences for Sustainability, as well as the Master program Marine Biology, including International Studies in Aquatic Tropical Ecology (ISATEC).