The research institute Senckenberg am Meer is a centre of worldwide biological and geological coastal and marine research with working areas from the North Sea coast to the deep sea and from the tropics to the polar regions. We study the impacts and risks of today’s environmental changes on marine ecosystems, their habitats and on changes in biodiversity with a broad spectrum of methods. Our expertise also includes the interpretation of biosphere crises in the geological past and has a focus on biogeographical distribution patterns of selected species using state-of-the-art molecular genetic methods.
Senckenberg am Meer
Andrzej Kryszpiniuk
The institute consists of two departments, Marine Research (MEFO) and the German Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research (DZMB), which has a location in Wilhelmshaven as well as Hamburg. Core competences of the 70 staff members are relevant to society e.g. in the fields of benthic and plankton long-term studies to characterise (supra-) regional climate and biodiversity changes, neobiota screening, geo-ecological biosedimentary systems, such as oyster reefs and deep-water coral reefs on seamounts and along continental margins, sediment dynamics, as well as in the assessment of environmental impacts and risks in deep-sea mining. In addition, Senckenberg am Meer has rich expertise in the field of taxonomy, using modern molecular and proteomic methods.
Departments
Marine Research Department
Marine Research Department
Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research
Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research
Senckenberg/Sven Tränkner
Prizes and Honours
Doctoral Student Jenny Neuhaus from the Senckenberg Research Institute and Dr. Katrin Linse from the British Antarctic Survey were awarded the Wilhelmshaven Science Prize on 14.11.2024 for the discovery of a new species of deep-sea scaphopod. The new species, Fissidentalium aurae, lives in symbiosis with an anemone at a depth of over 3300 m and is so far only known from the Labrador Sea. The Wilhelmshaven Science Prize facilitates networking and the promotion of science in the city of Wilhelmshaven.
PD Dr. Mona Hoppenrath and three other colleagues have been awarded the JSP Best Paper Award 2023 by the Japanese Society of Phycology 2024 for their publication: TILLMANN, U., WIETKAMP, S., GOTTSCHLING, M. & HOPPENRATH, M. (2023): Prorocentrum pervagatum sp. nov. (Prorocentrales, Dinophyceae), a new small planktonic species with a global distribution. Phycological Research 71: 56-71. doi: 10.1111/pre.12502
Dr. Alexander Kieneke, Jannik Schnier and four other colleagues received the Reinhard Rieger-Award in Zoomorphology 2020 on 18.10.2020 for their research study: SCHNIER, J., AHLRICHS, W.H., GRUHL, A., SCHULBERT, C., TEICHERT. S. & KIENEKE, A.(2019) Ultrastructure of the epidermal gland system of Tetranchyroderma suecicum Boaden, 1960 (Gastrotricha: Macrodasyida) indicates a defensive function of its exudate. Zoomorphology 138: 443-462. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00435-019-00462-4
Dr. Sven Rossel won the annual Science Slam Wilhelmshaven, organized by the Nordwestdeutschen Universitätsgesellschaft e.V. (NWDUG), achieving full score through voting of the audience. With his presentation „Wer ist es? – Mit Lasern!“ about species identification of Copepods using molecular methods he was able to defeat the Science Slammers of the other Wilhelmshaven research institutes. (12.2019) A video of the Science Slam can be found on YouTube via: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7ZgQq960lA
Der Senckenbergerin PD Dr. Mona Hoppenrath wurde am 11.08.2015 der „Prescott Award“ verliehen. Während der Jahrestagung der „Phycological Society of America“ nahm die Meeresforscherin von Senckenberg am Meer und Erstautorin des durch den Prescott Award ausgezeichneten Buches „Marine benthic dinoflagellates – unveiling their worldwide biodiversity“ den Preis stellvertretend für das Autorenteam entgegen.
The research group „Molecular taxonomy of marine organisms“of the division German Center for Marine Biodiversity Research (DZMB) of Senckenberg am Meer was prized as official project of the UN-Dekade “Biologische Vielfalt”. This distinction is awarded to projects which support the preservation of biological diversity in a commendable way.
Jana Packmor: Awarded for best student oral communication presented at the 12th International Conference on Copepoda at Hanyang University, Korea, July 2014
PACKMOR, J., MÜLLER, F. & GEORGE, K. H.: Atlantic seamounts and Islands as staging posts for the dispersal of shallow-water Paramesochridae (Copepoda, Harpacticoida). 12th International Conference on Copepoda (14.-18.07.2014) Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea
The junior research group „Molecular taxonomy of marine organisms“ was awarded as “Selected Location 2012” as part of the National Initiative “Germany – Country of Ideas”.
The initiative under patronage of the Federal President of Germany and the Deutsche Bank awards 365 outstanding projects and ideas of the sustainability of Germany yearly. As winner of this contest in 2012, the working group will act as an ambassador of the “Country of Ideas”, representing the innovation potential of Germany.
Dr. Lena Menzel will be honoured at the 24.2.2012 with the Bernhard-Rensch-Preis der GfBS 2012 for her outstanding PhD Thesis.
Lena Menzel 2011: Argestidae Por, 1986 (Copepoda, Harpacticoida) in the deep sea – systematics and geographical distribution. Universität Oldenburg
The Bernhard Rensch Prize is being awarded by the Society of Biological Systematics (GfBS, Germany) to Dr. Lena Menzel who has demonstrated exceptional work in biological systematics. The award was launched by the GfBS according to a suggestion by the late Prof. Dr. Ernst Mayr, an honorary member of the GfBS.
Dr. Gritta Veit-Köhler will recieve the Hanns Christian Schroeder-Hohenwarth Preis 2011 of the Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturkunde at the 6.2.2012 for the best populary scientific publication in the journal Natur-Forschung-Museum for her article:
Gritta Veit-Köhler, Jutta Kuhnert and Nils Volkenborn 2010: Der Ingenieur im Watt und die Meiofauna. Natur und Museum 140 (5/6): 120-125.
Dr. Alexander Kieneke was awarded the Reinhard Rieger-Award in Zoomorhology 2011 for his publication:
Birgen H. Rothe, Andreas Schmidt-Rhaesa und Alexander Kieneke 2011: The nervous system of Neodasys chaetonotoideus (Gastrotricha: Neodasys) revealed by combined confocal laserscanning and transmission electron microscopy: evolutionary comparison of neuroanatomy within the Gastrotricha and basal Protostomia. Zoomorphology 130: 51–84.
Inga Mohrbeck was selected best early stage researcher at the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity in Aberdeen 2011 and awarded with the Royal Society Publishing Award for her digital object presentation (film).
Dr. Terue Cristina Kihara was selected for the category “Image of Distinction” Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition 2011 for her confocal laser-scanning microscope image of a parasitic copepod (Clausidium) she took at the DZMB, Senckenberg am Meer.
Networks and Cooperations
The scientists at Senckenberg am Meer maintain close links with other marine research institutions in northern Germany as well as with other research areas at Senckenberg and are also involved in large-scale international projects and collaborations or are responsible for them. These include long-term international programmes and expedition series, but also cooperation with universities and the acceptance of teaching assignments.
DEUTSCHE ALLIANZ MEERESFORSCHUNG (DAM)
DAM connects leading marine research institutions of the five northern German coastal states. It addresses socially relevant future issues of marine research in joint research missions at the highest level. For this purpose, existing and new infrastructures, technologies and information systems are further developed and expanded. Together, science-based options for action for the sustainable use of the sea are developed and communicated to society and politics.
CONSORTIUM GERMAN MARINE RESEARCH (KDM)
German Marine Research Consortium brings together institutes and facilities in the field of marine, polar or coastal research and represents their interests vis-à-vis national decision-makers and the European Union. It promotes cooperation, joint research programs and collaboration in the planning, operation and use of large-scale infrastructure.
CARL VON OSSIETZKY UNIVERSITY OF OLDENBURG
The long-standing cooperation between Senckenberg am Meer (SaM) and Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg was further strengthened in 2001 with the joint appointment of Prof. Dr. Pedro Martínez Arbizu as Professor of Marine Biodiversity Research at the Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences at Oldenburg University and at Senckenberg am Meer as Head of the German Center for Marine Biodiversity Research (DZMB). Since 2016, Prof. Dr. Ingrid Kröncke has also held the professorship for benthic ecology at the Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Sea (ICBM), University of Oldenburg. Scientists from both departments of Senckenberg am Meer offer courses at the University of Oldenburg and supervise student theses. The foundation of the DZMB in 2000 was made possible by a cooperation between Senckenberg and the Universities of Oldenburg and Hamburg.
MARUM, UNIVERSITY OF BREMEN
The long-standing cooperation between Senckenberg am Meer and the University of Bremen was strengthened by the joint appointment of Prof. Dr. André Freiwald in 2010 as Head of Department of Marine Research and Professor of Marine Geology at the University of Bremen, where he is anchored at the Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM). MARUM uses state-of-the-art methods and is involved in international projects to decipher the role of the ocean in the Earth system – especially with regard to global change. It records the interactions between geological and biological processes in the ocean and provides contributions for a sustainable use of the oceans. MARUM is home to the Cluster of Excellence The Ocean Floor – Unexplored Interface of the Earth. Scientists from Senckenberg am Meer offer courses at the University of Bremen and supervise student theses.
UNIVERSITY OF HAMBURG
Senckenberg am Meer has a close cooperation with the University of Hamburg: staff members of the German Center for Marine Biodiversity Research (DZMB) work both at the Wilhelmshaven site and at the University of Hamburg at the Zoological Museum of the Grindel Biocenter. The foundation of the DZMB in 2000 was made possible by a cooperation between Senckenberg and the Universities of Hamburg and Oldenburg.
HELMHOLTZ INSTITUTE FOR FUNCTIONAL MARINE BIODIVERSITY (HIFMB)
The Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) is a research institute based in Oldenburg, Germany. It researches marine biodiversity and its importance for the function of marine ecosystems. In doing so, it develops the scientific basis for marine nature conservation and ecosystem management.
FEDERAL INSTITUTE FOR GEOSCIENCES AND NATURAL RESOURCES HANNOVER (BGR)
The cooperation of Senckenberg am Meer with BGR came about in 2010 through the investigation of the German manganese nodule license areas in the equatorial Pacific. BGR is investigating essential geological aspects to assess the potential of the German license areas with regard to resource extraction. The background of the project is a contract between BGR and the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which requires the collection of ecological data. Investigations on benthic biodiversity are an important part of the project, with which the Senckenberg am Meer was commissioned by the BGR.
INSTITUT MAURITANIEN DE RECHERCHE OCEANOGRAPHIQUE ET DES PECHES
NORTHWEST GERMAN UNIVERSITY SOCIETY E.V. (NWDUG)
The Northwest German University Society (NWDUG) is particularly committed to the settlement of university institutes but also of non-university research institutions in Wilhelmshaven area, promotes scientific work on the coastal region and communicates current research results to the general public. Prof. Dr. André Freiwald is a member of the scientific advisory board.
BIOSPHERE AG
With the Jade InnovationsZentrum, Biosphere AG is a regional anchor point for linking science and business and offers ideal conditions for startups and young companies in Wilhemshaven and the surrounding area. In terms of content, the Jade InnovationsZentrum focuses on the fields of medicine, maritime, biotechnology, natural sciences and technology, with biotechnological companies having priority. Senckenberg am Meer is a cooperation partner in SUM4-Tech, a network for sensor and measurement technology, areas of ocean, environment and mobility.
DIVERSITAS Deutschland E.V.
DIVERSITAS Deutschland e. V. deals with the issues of biodiversity research as well as with socially relevant problems of the protection and sustainable use of biodiversity and the ecosystem products and services based on it.
Library
The library is a scientific reference library with a focus on marine geology and marine biology. The inventory comprises approx. 3 450 book titles, 500 maps and 250 journals and series, and approx. 26 000 separate prints. Archive material from estates is incorporated into the inventory. The main task is to provide the staff of SaM with literature. We do not take part in interlibrary loan.
Our library is connected to WIFI (Wilhelmshaven Fachinformationseinrichtungen und wissenschaftliche Bibliotheken) and to AmB (German Association of Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers) and also to the Senckenberg working group Libraries and Exchange of Publications.
The stock of Marine Research Division includes approx. 3,100 book titles, 420 maps, 330 journals and series as well as approx. 21,500 reprints.
The DZMB’s stock includes around 400 books / monographs and around 2,800 reprints. With approx. 23,000 titles, the Monoculus Library is one of the largest collections of literature in the world on the subject of copepods.
Archival material from bequests is incorporated into the library holdings.
The library has permanent access to Senckenberg licences and the DFG national licenses. Interlibrary loans are made through the GBV. The electronic recording of the library stock is done with JabRef: an open source bibliography reference manager.
The use for external users is possible after registering by telephone. Guided tours through the library are only possible by prior arrangement.
Major international projects play just as important a role for the scientists as the close networking with other marine research institutions in northern Germany and other Senckenberg research areas, such as the Department of Marine Zoology and Palaeontology and Historical Geology as well as the Senckenberg Natural History Collections Dresden. The research infrastructure, such as the research vessel “SENCKENBERG”, is an elementary platform for carrying out our studies.
In addition, Senckenberg am Meer conducts teaching at universities and special training courses, advises industry and authorities on the assessment of the ecological state of our marine ecosystems and brings its own research results to the public in various formats.