Coastal Ecology

The research work of the Section Coastal Ecology covers the complex interface between land and sea. We specialise in the ecosystems of the Wadden Sea and the North Sea and investigate issues relating to stressors and natural and man-made changes. We also provide scientific advice to administrations and authorities, for example via the North Sea Office. We use our scientific findings to support protection and sustainable use of the shallow coastal seas.

The section builds predictive capacity by combining multidisciplinary approaches across different time scales in coastal ecosystems, from the polar coasts to the tidal regions of the North Sea. Key competencies are long-term ecological research, the development and application of automated measurement systems for short- and long-term events in coastal ecosystems, coastal modelling, the study of coastal dynamics, and the structure and functioning of food webs. Mechanistic understanding of the interactions between species, their molecular basis and the adaptive potential of organisms is gained through experimental approaches using large research infrastructures (e.g. Sylt mesocosms, Mya II, MOSES infrastructure, SOOP innovation platform). We lead large third-party funded projects on marine protected areas, carbon sequestration and climate stressors.

The scientific methods we use for these studies are a combination of observations, experiments and modelling. Questions and hypotheses from one method are answered with the other approaches. The Section's research is embedded in the current research programme "Changing Earth - Sustaining our Future (2021 - 2027)", whereby we focus primarily on Topic 4, "Coastal areas in global change". The section is home to a unique combination of expertises from the fields of biology, geography and (geo)physics. We work closely together to tackle the major challenges facing our coastal ecosystems.