The humpback whale is probably the most iconic species among the baleen whales. Anyone who listens to Kate Bush knows their long and complex songs. These songs are produced by humpback whale males as a reproductive display, most likely transferring information about individual fitness both to surrounding females and males. Humpback whales accumulate during the winter ...
Tropical coral reefs are changing. Some researchers suggest that modern tropical reefs could take the shape of habitat mosaics. Each patch of the mosaic are small patch-habitats of different regime types (e.g. coral-, sponge-, or algae-dominated) that coexist next to each other.
The Wadden Sea creates the largest unbroken tidal flat system in the world. This allows marine organisms of all shapes and sizes to flourish and draws in other migratory species like birds and seals from great distances. However, climate change and other anthropogenic forces have disrupted the balance of the Wadden Sea.
Oceans are vital for the transport of goods and data - but they are not in good shape. How can we reconcile the benefits for people and the protection of the oceans? How can the sea be sustainably used and protected?
Could a probiotic 'vaccination' protect tropical corals from environmental stress? Researchers have been observing large-scale coral bleaching since the 1980s, caused in particular by climate change and the resulting continuous rise in water temperatures in our oceans.
First successful sexual reproduction of South Sea corals in Germany - At the lab aquarium facility of the ICBM research group Environmental Biochemistry, headed by Prof. Dr. Peter Schupp, Dr. Samuel Nietzer and Matthew Jackson recently were the first in raising sexually reproduced offspring of stony corals in Germany. This marks a crucial step in their efforts for research on the conservation of reef corals.
It depends to a major degree on size and shape whether an organism manages to prevail in a given environment. A novel study took advantage from the exceptional diversity of shapes in phytoplankton to elucidate the relationship between evolutionary conditions, morphology, and taxonomic diversity.
A global team of researchers has documented the pervasive impacts of noise on marine animals and ecosystems and identified actions to return to the soundtrack of the healthy ocean. Rain falls lightly on the ocean’s surface. Marine mammals chirp and squeal as they swim along. But the soundtrack of the healthy ocean no longer reflects the acoustic environment of today’s ocean, plagued with human-created noise.
Only within the last couple decades have social science and humanities scholars intentionally taken their disciplines offshore and into the depths of the sea. Academic and policy circles now recognize the justification for interdisciplinary ocean research. Such efforts have brought attention to the ocean’s importance to every aspect of our lives. This turn has not ...
In our new joint research project with The Faculty of Business Administration and Economics of Bielefeld University both parties combine their expertises to explore the possible value of (additional) information and its consequences for optimal decision making in the context of ecological-economic problems.
