My Name is Sean Kearney, currently doing a Bachelors’ Degree in Biology at Christian-Albrechts-University in Kiel. From an early age, I was really fascinated by marine life and its’ ecological aspects, and for this reason I decided to pursue a degree in Biology, which I can hopefully follow up on with a masters course in marine biology or ecology.
In modern times it has become clear that we need a greater understanding about the impacts of human activities on marine life. Working in this research group is an excellent opportunity to learn about ways of analysing these climate change impacts. Not on one kind of species, but rather on an ecological community. My area of research is the correlation between the direct impacts of climate extremes on the seagrass Zostera marinaand the grazing behaviour of the marine snail Rissoa membranacea, typical members of Baltic Sea habitats. We address in particular, how physiology of seagrass and grazing intensity of the snails are affected during heatwaves and hypoxic upwelling events? The answers to these questions can provide further pieces in the puzzle of the impact of climatic changes in marine ecosystems, helping to create a bigger picture of the developments in the near future.
