Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Germany

My research interests

I am a marine ecologist, animal and cell physiologist with a focus on polar and subpolar coastal organisms. At the age of 63, I am looking back at 25 years of science shared with Argentinean and Chilean collaborators. In the past 15 years we conducted collaborative research at Dallmann laboratory on the Argentine Carlini station on King-George Island. Together we analysed marine biodiversity and the ecosystem structure of the local fjord of Potter Cove and recorded the response of the organisms of this exemplary coastal system to climate change and the rapid retreat of the local icecap.

How is my work linked to the Beagle Channel area?

I am fascinated by the growing possibilities to analyse and model large and small-scale processes and interactions of different biotic and abiotic drivers in ecosystems across geographic regions and climate zones. Expanding our work to the Beagle Channel in Tierra del Fuego, ecosystems in advanced stage of deglaciation, helps to predict coming change in West Antarctica. In South America we also witness the impact of permanent human presence and the pressure human usage produces in coastal areas. To understand coastal change in the Beagle Channel, we need large data sets of marine observation in space and time. The aim is to build a network of marine observation, based on the requirements of different stakeholder groups and together with our colleagues in Chile and Argentina.