From tooth fish to food webs, from molecular genetic tools to underwater acoustics: dive into our current research
Topics
“Faktencheck Artenvielfalt” – and then?
In October 2024 the first Germany wide biodiversity assessment “Faktencheck Artenvielfalt” was published. The HIFMB led the writing process of the chapter on status and changes of coastal and marine biodiversity, their drivers and consequences, as well as options and needs for action to improve its status. The assessment compiled information and data from numerous …
Did you know?
Unicellular plankton covers a size range that is comparable to the size difference between a small fish and a city like Oldenburg.
Our New Home under Construction
A three-story building with almost 2,000 square meters of floor space will be built by 2023. In addition to 85 office workplaces, the building will also offer around 650 square meters of laboratory space, creating the best conditions for marine biodiversity research.
Undersea Cables: A Reminder for the Highly Wired World and Political Creatures
Lately, people worldwide have been caught off guard from hearing the news about the volcanic seamount eruption in the Tongan sea. This eruption caused tsunami waves—sweeping the Pacific Islands, including Tonga Island. This pacific island nation also suffers from fiber optic cable malfunctions laying on the seafloor, often undisturbed by human activities.
Embracing Tensions in Research, or: Why I Can’t Answer the Question, “What is the ocean?”
Tension. What springs to mind when you think of tension? Images of frustration and anxiety might arise; situations you may not want to revisit, interactions you’d rather forget. As someone who suffers from anxiety and PTSD on a daily basis, it seems counterintuitive for me to argue that tension can be good. But I think it can be.
How Singing Whales Tell us Where They Come From
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 …
Shade Sails for Coral Reef Recovery
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 and Its Stakeholders
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.






