PhD student in the BMBF-project „Bioacid II: Biological impacts of ocean acidification (phase II)”
Supervisor: Prof. Klaus Jürgens

Research field:

Responses and adaptations of bacterial communities and prokaryotic key players to changing environmental conditions

Changing environmental conditions represent a challenge to the physiology of bacteria. Substrate availability, salinity and other physico-chemical parameters are the major factors influencing function and structure of prokaryotic communities.

A special characteristic of the Baltic Sea is an elongated salinity gradient, ranging from seawater conditions in the Skagerrak (salinity 35) to fresh water areas in the Bothnian Bay (salinity < 3). The largest part of the Baltic Sea (central Baltic Sea) is affected by brackish water (salinity 5-8). Therefore the Baltic Sea represents a special habitat in the transient area between salt and fresh water. PCR based investigations to the microbial diversity in the pelagic zone of the Baltic Sea showed unusual composition of the bacterial community along this salinity gradient and indicated first details to the composition of an autochthonous brackish water bacteria community. In the context of my thesis (diploma) I quantified selected bacteria's groups of the Baltic Sea by the PCR-independent method CARD-FISH (catalyzed reporter deposition - fluorescence in situ hybridization) using the automated image acquisition and counting system on the epifluorescence microscope.

In my PhD thesis, I will investigate changes in function and composition of bacterial communities with focus on an upwelling situation in the Benguela current (Namibia), varying salinity conditions in the Baltic Sea and the effect of increasing CO₂ concentrations on key organisms from the Baltic Sea.

Diploma thesis

Title: "Quantification of abundant Baltic Sea bacteria by catalyzed reporter deposition-fluorescence In Situ hybridization" (2011)
Open library entry of University Library of Rostock