The common cockle (Cerastoderma edule), on whose empty shells every other visitor of European beaches already stepped, is not only a beautiful beach souvenir, but also quite a delicacy. So far its cultivation is constrained to tidal coasts, where in large-scale cases, the cockles are simply harvested. My master thesis revolves around finding methods, which allow the cultivation of cockles in non-tidal areas, such as the coast along Kiel, plus methods during which cockles are not only extracted from the ecosystem, but implanted first and then harvested, ensuring less disturbance of the present ecosystem. Moreover, aquaculture might even act against the eutrophication of the Kiel Fjord and the wider Baltic. These experiments and setups are conducted in corporation with CRM – Coastal Research & Management Kiel. In the face of rapid climate change it is also necessary to incorporate the cockles’ future survival chances into the aquacultures success chances. Therefore, I join other scientists of the group to conduct small ecosystem experiments using GEOMAR’s Kiel Outdoor Benthocosms (KOBs), challenging the inhabitants with climate change temperature scenarios.
