Alumni Researchers within the Marine Ecosystems Research Group
PhD student at TZS. Funded by the Walter and Andrée de Nottbeck Foundation.
When asked what makes the northern Baltic Sea special, you might think about the vast expanses of ice that can transform the sea during the winter. But what you might not think so much about, is that in the summer parts of the archipelagos are transformed underwater by vibrant plant meadows. These meadows are also special to the northern Baltic because they are highly diverse with a unique assembly of plant species. We can use these meadows to ask questions that would be difficult to answer elsewhere. I investigate how the characteristics of plants affect ecosystem processes such as primary production and nutrient cycling, from individual to community scale. By doing this, we can better understand the underlying mechanisms which direct the fate of ecosystem processes in aquatic plant communities.
Current research projects:
Charlotte’s profile in the University of Helsinki research portal and Charlotte’s profile in Google Scholar.
Postdoctoral Researcher. Funded by the Academy of Finland.
My research explores the productivity of coastal waters and the factors that drive fundamental ecosystem processes such as primary productivity and respiration. Seafloor habitats are a key focus of my work, because they represent hotspots of biodiversity and productivity within the coastal zone but they remain poorly studied. Filling in this knowledge gap requires a novel interdisciplinary approach that investigates productivity rates in combination with other factors of influence such as sunlight and nutrient availability, hydrodynamics, and biodiversity. The success of this work is tightly linked to the use of new and evolving technologies such as Aquatic Eddy Covariance and microsensor techniques.
Current research projects:
Karl’s profile in the University of Helsinki research portal and Karl’s profile in Google Scholar.
Postdoctoral Researcher. Funded by Academy of Finland.
I am currently working on the role of benthic foraminifera and their endobionts in key biogeochemical processes, as well as the application of Next Generation Sequencing as a biomonitoring tool. I have previously studied the impact of crude oil on marine microbial communities, and the nitrogen and carbon cycles of the oceans. My research is characterized by a dual approach, a) looking at the processes occurring in the ecosystem by applying chemical and stable isotope analysis and, b) targeting the microbial communities involved in these processes by in-depth molecular analysis (e.g. high throughput sequencing techniques) and subsequent bioinformatics/data analysis.
Research projects:
Myrsini’s profile in the University of Helsinki research portal.
PhD student at TZS and Stockholm University, Baltic Sea Centre. Funded by the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management through the Baltic Nest Institute.
My main interests are coastal ecology and management. I study ecosystem functions in the coastal zone, focusing on Baltic Sea benthic invertebrate animals and plants. I also look at how the joint effects of climate change and human-induced pressures such as nutrient loads might change the functioning of the benthic system and the ecosystem services it provides through model simulations.
Current research projects:
PhD student at TZS. Funded by Walter and Andrée de Nottbeck foundation.
I investigate the role of intact but dying phytoplankton cells in the pelagic carbon cycle. Realistic understanding of the mechanics of aquatic carbon flow is important for accurate prediction of processes ranging from local eutrophication events to global climate change. In my research I focus on seasonal changes in the proportion of dying cells and consequences of the ratio of living to dying cells on pelagic microbial carbon flow.
Current research projects:
Samu’s profile in the University of Helsinki research portal.
PhD student at TZS. Funded by the Nottbeck foundation, the BONUS COCOA project and Victoria stiftelsen.
I am investigating the role of benthic communities for ecosystem functioning. I am especially interested in how the benthic fauna is affecting the nutrient retention and transformation in varying coastal habitats. The coastal zone is very important because it provides us with many ecosystem services and maintains many important ecosystem processes. But with the ongoing eutrophication and threat of increasing hypoxia these ecosystems may be changed or impaired. For example, what happens to the functions and, on a larger scale, to ecosystem services if we lose or get changed fauna communities?
Current research projects:
Johanna’s profile in the University of Helsinki research portal and Johanna’s profile in Google Scholar.
Postdoctoral researcher at University of Auckland and TZS. Funded by the Rutherford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (New Zealand), and Walter and Andrée de Nottbeck Foundation.
I am a field ecologist and I am interested in biodiversity and ecosystem function in coastal soft-sediment, seagrass, and mangrove ecosystems. My current research focus is on the traits that make seafloor ecosystems resilient to human disturbances. Coastal marine ecosystems are some of the most impacted by multiple human activities, and my research aims to understand how different elements of biodiversity protect against the loss of ecosystem function under human disturbances in the coastal environment. Specifically, I am interested in teasing apart the elements of biodiversity that make seafloor macrofaunal communities resilient to human disturbances that occur at different spatial and temporal scales. My research aims to find practical ways to assess vulnerability of coastal marine ecosystems to future Anthropogenic pressures and disturbances.
Current projects:
On-going projects involved:
Postdoctoral Researcher. Funded by Academy of Finland.
My work focuses on the applications of high-throughput sequencing in benthic ecosystem monitoring surveys in the Baltic Sea. Previously I worked as a postdoc at the Universities of Vienna (Division of Microbial Ecology) and Edinburgh (UK Centre for Astrobiology), where my research topics included single-cell microbiology and the habitability of extreme ecosystems. I also have a continuing interest in research into the environmental impacts and fate of microplastics. I have served on the European Commission-funded AstRoMap European Astrobiology Roadmap Panel, a Defra Technical Advisory Group focusing on the biodegradability of plastic waste.
Research project:
Jesse’s profile in the University of Helsinki research portal.
Docent, Academy Research Fellow.
I am a specialist in the aquatic nitrogen cycle, having extensively studied denitrification, anammox, nitrification and DNRA in sediments and water columns both in freshwaters and in the Baltic Sea. Currently my focus is on the factors affecting the production and consumption of nitrous oxide and methane in aquatic ecosystems. The work includes water column and sediment studies in coastal and offshore areas of the Baltic Sea.
Examples of research projects:
Susanna’s profile in the University of Helsinki research portal and Susanna’s profile in Google Scholar.
PhD student at TZS. Funded by the Nottbeck foundation, Svenska kulturfonden, Oskar Öflunds stiftelse, Waldemar von Frenckells stiftelse, and Suomen Luonnonsuojelun säätiö.
I am investigating the reasons behind a recent decline of flounders at the Finnish coast. Flounders are the most common flatfishes in the Baltic Sea. They are marine benthivorous fishes and important fishery targets. I am especially interested in the mechanisms controlling population/stock variability of flounders in the northern Baltic Sea. Recent findings have revealed that the flounders in the northern Baltic Sea in fact consist of two distinct species, constituting mixed stocks with temporally and spatially shifting dominance ratios. These findings do not only change the basis for stock assessments, management and conservation of Baltic flounders, but also profoundly change how we understand the ecology of the mixed populations and how we should study these fishes and their stock dynamics now and in the future.
Current research projects:
Henri’s profile in the University of Helsinki research portal and Henri’s profile in ResearchGate.
Academy Research Fellow. Funded by Academy of Finland.
My work is focused on the interface of ecology and biogeochemistry, investigating how benthic (micro)organisms influence oxygen dynamics, and nutrient and carbon cycling in sediments. My research to date has focused on understanding of biogeochemical cycles and ecosystem dynamics in low-oxygen marine settings, such as oceanic Oxygen Minimum Zones (OMZs), as well as survival strategies of single celled eukaryotes (benthic foraminifera) in these hostile environments. In addition to benthic ecology and biogeochemistry, my previous projects have included aspects of paleoenvironmental research and development of foraminiferal paleoindicators, or proxies. Thus my work connects modern day aquatic biogeochemistry to long-term elemental cycles on Earth.
Examples of current research projects:
Karoliina’s profile in the University of Helsinki research portal.
University lecturer in littoral ecology at the Dept. of Environmental Sciences, Aquatic Sciences, University of Helsinki.
My research interests cover various aspects in littoral/ benthic ecosystems, including biodiversity, community ecology and marine processes in the Baltic Sea. I have been working on four main themes, including (1) marginal populations – especially algae – focusing on phylogenetics, genetic diversity, population structure and taxonomy, (2) using molecular tools, I have been studying aquatic microbial communities, especially the community dynamics of sediment microbes, (3) my old interest in littoral primary productivity is now addressed in the framework of climate change, and (4) practical uses of macroalgae as biofuels, fertilizers and in reducing eutrophication.
Elina’s profile in the University of Helsinki research portal.
Adj. prof. (retired).
I work mainly with vision in arthropods, using electrophysiological recordings. My current project, “Modes and time scales of eye adaptation to changing environments in Arctic and glacial-relict mysid shrimps”, is funded by the Academy of Finland and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research. The project is a collaboration between Helsinki University and the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. I am a convener and organizer of the international Visionarium Symposium for vision researchers, which is organized yearly in Tvärminne since 2002. I teach a course of Aquatic ecophysiology, part of which is focuses on how animals break the diffuse boundary layer between sediment and water, and how this bioturbation affects the oxygen profiles in sediment. Recording of endogenous rhythms and animal migrations in gradients belong to my interests.
Magnus’ profile in the University of Helsinki research portal.
PhD student. Funded by Academy of Finland.
I study methane processes in coastal sediments and the water column of the Baltic Sea. My research topics range from large scale disturbances down to specific processes concerning microbial production and consumption of methane. I am especially interested in estuarine environments and understanding the main drivers behind spatial and temporal changes in methane processes in these systems, and how they connect to eutrophication and climate change.
Current research project:
Researcher at TZS. Funded by the University of Helsinki/Stockholm University collaboration (Baltic Bridge).
My research focuses on exploring the role of key coastal habitats (e.g. bladder-wrack and blue mussel rocky beds, seagrass and bare soft-sediments) in the biodiversity and ecosystem functioning of the Baltic Sea. We are using the Aquatic Eddy Covariance as a cutting-edge way to quantify habitat-function relationships across key coastal habitats. I am also interested in the effects of increasing accumulations of drifting macroalgal detritus on the functioning of coastal habitats. I study how detritus source dynamics and characteristics might affect benthic communities, oxygen dynamics and the composition of carbon in coastal areas affected by eutrophication and influenced by large drifting accumulations.
Current research projects:
Iván’s profile in the University of Helsinki research portal and Iván’s profile in Google Scholar.
PhD. Funded by Onni Talas Foundation.
My research focuses on understanding the potential impacts of climate change on coastal macroalgae, in particular the Bladder Wrack, Fucus Vesiculosus, which is a foundation species in the hard bottom substrates in Northern Baltic Sea. In the Baltic Sea, climate change has been forecasted to cause elevated temperature, declining salinity, increasing eutrophication and ocean acidification, which have been predicted to have adverse effects on foundation species such as F. vesiculosus. I am investigating the effects of these different drivers on F. vesiculosus in experimental settings.
Research projects:
Antti’s profile in the University of Helsinki research portal and Antti’s profile in Google Scholar.