Postdoc at HIFMB with external supervision here at Åbo Akademi University and AWI Sylt.
Project title: Climate change effects on ecosystem functioning in marine communities: A trait-based approach
I am a PostDoc at the HIFMB Oldenburg. I completed my doctoral studies in 2020 at Åbo Akademi University in Finland, where I worked on interactions between coastal ecosystem engineers, such as seagrass and bivalves, and their effects on hydro- and sediment dynamics.
In view of future climate scenarios, coastal ecosystems are exposed to multiple stressors, including ocean warming trends, reoccurring heat waves, ocean acidification and changes in salinity regimes. The consequences are still unprecedented and may imply major shifts in future community structures. My current interest lies in understanding how climate change stressors can affect benthic soft sediment communities and the potential consequences for the ecosystem functions these communities provide. Specifically, I aim to unravel patterns in community trait compositions and underlying mechanisms driving the provision and resilience of ecosystem functions. Furthermore, I am interested in assessing the role of facilitative processes among coastal ecosystem engineers to mitigate climate change effects for associated communities.