R01: Our Common Future Ocean

Pathways towards ocean sustainability: Management concepts for Baltic fisheries
Dr. Rüdiger Voss,  read more The project investigates concepts of ocean sustainability and governance using the example of fisheries as an economic activity influencing the ecosystem. It will derive management concepts, which balance ecological and economic needs. The project applies multi-species fisheries economic-ecological models, extending the view by exchange and feed-back with ecosystem models, and taking into account ocean change. The major aims are to (i) define managements objectives in a changing ecosystem, accounting for economic, distributional and governance issues, (ii) perform multi-species fishery model optimizations according to the defined objectives, including exchange and feed-back with an ecosystem model, to derive management rules best accounting for the ecological and economic needs, an (iii) address ocean change by including climate change scenarios and species adaptation/fisheries induced evolution in the model runs. The suggested work continues to apply models successfully developed in phase 1, builds on running as well as applied-for international projects and bridges to work to be continued in phase 2 of the cluster. Due to its strong inter- and trans-disciplinary character as well as its international embedding, the work will enhance the internal networking and international visibility of „Future Ocean“.

Governing future oceans
read more This proposal forms the basis of a study that will try to answer to what extent the notion of common heritage of mankind and its interaction with other principles of the international law of the sea could provide protection for the living resources of the oceans. In order to do so, the study will first provide a description of the meaning of the common heritage of humankind concept for the oceans. Then, the interaction between the common heritage of humankind with other principles concerning the protection and preservation of marine living resources will be assessed. The research proposed is one that is both timely and necessary. The concept of the common heritage of humankind needs a renewed assessment in order to define its potential usefulness for governing the future oceans. The study will mainly be theoretical and dependent on thorough analysis of existing literature and practice. Therefore – at this stage – no estimation of additional costs seems to be necessary.

Coastal sustainability and governance
Dr. Barbara Neumann,  read more This work aims to extent the work of Halpern et al. (2012) who recently published an index to score “ocean health” at global level. Though described as a “...standardized, quantitative, transparent and scalable measure ... to understand, track and communicate ecosystem status and design strategic actions...”, there are shortcomings to this approach. These will be addressed in the proposed project by integrating stakeholders and their knowledge and notions in conceptualizing the framework, by including the governance system, and by assessing coastal zones in the sense of a hinterland-coastsea- continuum of coastal SES.

From Heiligenhafen to New York and back - Transdiciplinary research for better fisheries governance
Dr. Jörn Schmidt,  read more The overarching goal of this project is the use of interdisciplinary approaches integrating natural science, social science and arts and transdicsciplinary approaches expanding the peer review group to stakeholders and the general public to improve the understanding of maritime systems, with a focus on fisheries. Today’s fisheries system is a hierarchical system including science institutions, governmental institutions, the catch sector, the processing industry, consumers and environmental organizations from the local fisherman in Heiligenhafen to the United Nations (Figure 1). The challenge of future fisheries governance is to change the top down command and control system to a participatory system (Jentoft et al. 2010) to define common goals with social acceptance, achieve better compliance, and finally sustain a viable fishery. The project proposal will have one main part (A) new tools of extended science communication integrating stakeholder perception and two integrated parts (B) ecological and economic models and (C) analysis of systems structure. The project requires expertise in fisheries science, social science, communication design and programming. I will lead the research from a broad fisheries science background, including biology, modelling, assessment and management, but will furthermore facilitate the collaboration between the other disciplines as well as outside the science system to approach the tasks. Collaboration includes cluster internal as well as national and international scientists, stakeholders and the general public.

The sustainability approach on the high seas
Dr. Ulrike Kronfeld-Goharani,  read more We will investigate how sustainability can be conceptualized regarding the great uncertainty of ocean change. In particular, questions of interest will be: How can it be achieved to increase public and cultural awareness of ocean affairs so that sustainable norms and rules are more accepted? How and when have sustainability approaches been applied to ocean affairs? Which international conventions for marine nature conservation have been taken into account the sustainability principle and which institutions are involved in implementing it? What role does the Commission on Sustainability play in regard of maritime affairs? Who else is concerned with sustainability in the maritime context? What does the process of sustainability mean for institutionalization and how can national and subnational capacities be implemented and enforced? To answer these questions, the study will be divided into two sequential parts. The first part will consist in a statistical analysis of usage and connotations of the empty signifier “sustainability”, followed by qualitative analysis in the second part.

Next Generation Interactive Scientific Poster
Prof. Tom Duscher,  read more Is the classical, printed poster still the ideal way to convey scientific information? The classical poster does often not offer enough space for the sheer complexity of the contents – texts, pictures, graphs and tables – used to convey scientific research today which causes inability to communicate contents and statements concisely. The classical poster also lacks an appropriate possibility for continuous updates which are necessary to include newer research results and would do justice to today‘s constant changes of information. Therefore, comprehension and the range of research results decrease, which raises the question of whether the classical poster can still function as an adequate and contemporary medium for the illustration and communication of scientific content. Our aim within the framework of this research proposal is to evaluate, if the poster as a classical scientific medium can be extended by digital and interactive elements in order to correspond to the demands of attractive formats for the mediation of scientific content these days. A working prototype (demonstrator) of the semester topic 2013:”Submarine landslides / Tsunamis” will be conceived, designed and programmed. This research proposal forms the basis of a conceptual investigation of a semester project at the Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts and Design in 2012. The subjects of the research are immersive interaction concepts and successive mediation of scientific knowledge on the basis of non-linear narration.

Invasion of Mediterranean mussels into a warming Baltic Sea: will hybridization with local mussels impact emerging aquaculture enterprises?
read more Recent evidence for the occurence of invasive Mediterranean blue mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) in the Baltic Sea1 indicates that in the future, local mussel communities might become a mixture of hybrids between M. galloprovincialis and the native M. edulis x M. trossulus hybrids, particularly when considering future climate change scenarios. As hybridization can affect many ecologically and economically relevant traits, it is paramount to obtain a deeper understanding of the current genetic composition of Baltic Sea mussel populations. We propose to test for reproductive barriers between the three species and to study, whether emerging aquaculture enterprises might be endangered by extensive hybridization of mussels. Hybridization can lead to mussels with reduced shell strength and growth performance, a significant economical problem for mussel aquacultures. We propose to analyze population genetics of local hybrids using next generation transcriptome sequencing and crossing experiments. Further, we propose to measure fitness of generated hybrid offspring under different abiotic conditions, model larval drift to estimate population connectivity in the Baltic Sea and test for performance of hybrids in a local aquaculture enterprise.

At sea
Prof. Peter Brandt,  read more The search for new aesthetic and with regards to content presentation strategies in the field of friction between natural science and art is to be implemented in the shape of a cinematic essay. The expected result is a 70 to 90 minute HD movie in German and English version, which will be presented at festivals, symposia, universities, cinemas and alternative venues and is intended to increase the international prominence of the interdisciplinarity of the cluster.

Marine Spatial Planning Game
Dr. Jörn Schmidt,  read more This project will initiate a partnership between the Future Ocean Cluster and the Earth Institute at Columbia University by collaborating on development of a novel, game-based platform that builds on prior investments of both partners. We propose to develop a computer-based interactive and interdisciplinary spatial planning game, that will combine the strengths of Kiel’s ecoOcean platform with the SMARTIC (Strategic MAnagement of Resources in TImes of Change) tool under development by the Earth Institute. Specifically, this proposal requests support to 1) adapt EcoOcean’s simulation software to depict region-specific case studies guided by the framework of the SMARTIC role playing game, and 2) to research the game’s effectiveness in helping the public and decision makers become “more aware of the need for responsible and sustainable use of the ocean …”

Making the Invisible Ocean Visible:! Artistic strategies of public art and design projects concerned with ocean sustainability challenges and their potential of sparking off behavioural change.
Prof. Manfred Schulz,  read more Life on earth depends on an intact marine ecosystem. The fact that humanity is destroying the oceans in unrecoverable ways is well known, but society fails to step in and take the necessary measures. Simply providing the public with informations does not lead to a sustainable behavior. Unfortunately, effektive solutions in reestablishing a symbiotic relationship between humanity and the seas have to include fundamental changes in human behavior. Sustainability scientists therefore agree, that sustainability challenges require new ways of knowledge production. The visualisation of yet invisible processes, the use of everyday language and the emotional involvement of people will be crucial. New approaches therefore have to be transdisciplinary, community based, interactive and participatory. Many of the demanded approaches are already intuitively practised by artists working in the public realm. The reengagement of artists in society and its challenges is a major trend. The aim of the proposed practise based PhD is to research the impact of public art and design projects on the perception of ocean sustainability in special and environmental destruction with its consequences for human rights in general. The strategies of involving people in art projects concerned with sustainability challenges will be analysed and the projects potential of provoking transformative changes will be rated. Central element of the practical research will be the curation of an interdisciplinary and multi-format symposium / festival concerned with the described artistic projects. The close link between art / design and the public could be the missing link between science and the public and has to be researched in order to promote (ocean) sustainability.

Perception of Beach Wrack by Beach Users
read more We propose an experimental socio-ecological study of the deterrent effect of different types of natural beach wrack on humans. We hypothesize that (1) natural beach wrack is often less deterrent to humans than anthropogenic beach litter, that (2) beach wrack originating from late succession stages of seaweed communities is often less deterrent than beach wrack composed of opportunistic seaweeds, and that (3) the odor of beach wrack has more impact on its deterrent effect than visual appearance or tactile stimuli. Frequencies of beach users on selected beaches with defined debris composition will be determined and user opinions will be evaluated in a survey. This first-time study explores a new methodological approach to the development of sustainable beach cleaning concepts in coastal management.

The role of hybridization and microbial associations for invasion success in a comb jelly
Dr. Cornelia Jaspers,  read more Marine invasive species have globally increasing biological and economic impacts. However, the role of hybridization and subsequent changes in microbiota structure, favoring range expansion and invasiveness remain poorly understood. In controlled experiments, recently formed hybrid populations along with ancestral control lines will be exposed to stress. We will investigate fitness effects of hybridization as well as microbiota changes using tagged amplicon sequencing in one of the most notorious marine invasive species, the comb jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi. Results will reveal whether or not hybridization leads to outbreeding depression or increased hybrid vigor and to what degree the microbiota differs among native, invasive and hybrid populations. This will help to understand fitness consequences due to hybridization and its possible contribution to acceleration of invasion success.

Comprehensive Blue Wealth: Quantifying Ocean Sustainability and Its Uncertainties
Prof. Martin Visbeck,  read more Existing attempts to quantitatively assess the sustainability of the ocean in quantitative terms (Halpern et al. 2012) lack a consistent conceptual underpinning (Rickels et al. 2014). Here we propose to extend the economic concept of comprehensive wealth by taking a broader normative basis from environmental ethics into account, and to apply it for the first time to a complex and interacting system with multiple uses—the ocean. In an interdisciplinary endeavor comprising scientific modeling, economics and environmental ethics, we will assess, and quantify for a case study of the Baltic Sea, how uncertainties in ocean understanding and prediction, ambiguities about future ocean management, and potential disagreements about sustainability norms affect the measure of comprehensive blue wealth. While running the risk that uncertainties may turn out to be huge, the project also has the potential to go a major first step towards becoming a cornerstone of a solutionoriented, large-scale integrative research project beyond Future Ocean phase II.

Autonomous Fish Echosounding – or How Combining High‐Tech Oceanography, Hydroacoustics and Citizen Science
Dr. Jörn Schmidt,  read more Increasing overexploitation of worldwide fish stocks, in particular in developing countries, calls for cost effective fisheries and ecosystem data collection as basis for sustainable stock management strategies. Here, we propose a pilot study that links state-of-the-art oceanographic research with echosounding technology and fishermen citizen science. This study aims to develop autonomous monitoring capabilites for small pelagic fish around Cape Verde Islands that are piggy-backed to oceanographic observations.

Crowd Science from Coast to Coast
Dr. Jörn Schmidt,  read more Global assessments of vulnerability to climate-change induced sea-level rise and of its associated impacts are impeded by the severe lack of information on coastal physical characteristics. We propose the development of a crowd science framework that enables contributors to collect and transmit information and data on coastal physical and geomorphological characteristics and coastal types. Furthermore, we aim to expand the scope of the proposed framework for the purpose of climate change communication, and specifically for raising awareness regarding related risks and opportunities in coastal regions. The acquired data will be included in a spatial database, which will support the application of integrated assessment models. The framework will initially be developed for a pilot application for the Mediterranean basin and, if successful, will be extended to global scale. We envisage the framework to also be transferable to other sectors or themes, such as fisheries or marine resources.

The Future Ocean: A spatial audiovisual installation projecting the future of the oceans within an abstract soundscape
Dr. Nicolaas Glock,  read more Science influenced contemporary art and musical composition in many different facets, while the artistic presentation has led to new social and cultural perceptions about science[1]. Varese was inspired by processes like crystal growth, while Xenakis based his music on stochastic events. As a transdisciplinary artistic research project we propose to create an audiovisual installation based on projections about the future ocean focusing on sea level rise. Within the context of the “Wissenschaftsjahr der Ozeane 2016/17” this project acts within a good time frame for public debate. The sonic part of the installation will be based on concrete recorded sounds from the ocean and, respectively, oceanic research. These sounds will be used for asymmetric granular synthesis and other modular sound manipulations to create an abstract spatial soundscape. The whole project will be implemented in two parts: 1.: Development and presentation in the wave field synthesis laboratory at the centre for microtonal music and multimedia in Hamburg (Hochschule für Musik und Theater) and 2.: The creation of a new audio-visual installation in Kiel. Wave field synthesis can create virtual sound sources by producing wave fronts synthesized by a large number of individually controlled loud speakers. These virtual sound sources are independent from the position of the listener, e.g. a listener can walk around or through a virtual sound source. Sea level rise will be simulated by gradual filling of the room with “soundgrains” using granular synthesis, resulting in a gradual sound immersion of the recipient. Ocean acidification might be simulated by representing H3O+ ions with “soundgrains” which are stochastically distributed within the room and raise their concentration according to predicted future pH changes. Temperature changes might be represented by changes in pitch and spatial velocity of the sounds. After the realization of the project and presentation in the wave field synthesis lab the sonic part will be compiled to an installation in Kiel which will create a spatial sound field by the distribution of several loud speakers, using concrete instead of virtual sound sources. The visual part of the installation will support the soundscape and be created by the Muthesius Academy of Arts under supervision of Prof. Tom Duscher. With the use of projection mapping and sensors visual representations of the data will be projected into the special installation. While the visitor enters the installation the projection and sound will react to his movement. The presence of the visitor will interact with the environment as a metaphor of the real life relationship between men and nature. Visual elements can include maps of sea-level rise scenarios at different temporal and spatial scales photographs or movies of ice-sheet melting or graphs and maps of coastal population distribution and its responses to changing sea levels.

Adding fuel to the fish: Perceptions and adaptability of Nigerian fisherfolk to impacts from climate change and petroleum production
Dr. Jörn Schmidt,  read more Fishing communities in coastal parts of Nigeria face an increase in exploitation of fish stocks and in use conflicts with the petroleum production in their waters. To study the interdependence of these sectors and the additional threat of climate change and pollution, we propose a study, which collects data on the economic situation as well as perceptions of threats and regulations within the coastal communities by means of interview surveys, linking existing and new scientific knowledge with local knowledge. Questionnaire development as well as results appraisal will be carried out in dialogue with key stakeholders. Results will reveal adaptation potential of these communities and provide scientific advice for the region. The project strengthens international collaboration, capacity building and expertise in trans-disciplinary science.

Mercury and dimethylmercury pollution in the ecosystem of the Kieler Förde as a result of historical use of air defence ammunition
Prof. Edmund Maser,  read more This project will study the distribution and fate of elemental mercury (Hg) and methylated Hg in the southwest Baltic Sea, and the biomagnification of these toxic substances in the aquatic food chain. These Hg compounds are anthropogenic pollutants and pose a threat to ecosystem and public health, and are thus of concern to regulatory authorities of Schleswig-Holstein. We will investigate strongly polluted and control sites, with a specific focus on a region off Kiel where >1.2 million mercurycontaining anti-aircraft grenades were shot from World War II artillery training grounds and now litter the seabed. The main aim of this study is to determine the distribution of Hg in the waters and sediments of the southwest Baltic Sea derived from munitions deployed >70 years, and how much has moved into the food chain. The project will provide direct policy relevant information to the Schleswig-Holstein government on compliance of this EU Water Framework Directive Priority Compound.

Understanding physiological processes to improve animal welfare and production capacity of shrimp aquaculture systems in Schleswig-Holstein
Dr. Marian Hu,  read more Shrimp aquaculture leaves a tremendous footprint on the coastal zone of many tropical countries (e.g. via deforestation of mangrove ecosystems) and animals are often treated with heavy doses of antibiotics to fight bacterial diseases1. Recently, a recirculating shrimp aquaculture farm has established itself in Kiel that produces animals that are free from antibiotics. However, due to the high stocking densities necessary to operate economically, the system accumulates CO2, which impacts animal physiology and welfare, as well as system productivity. Here, we propose a transdisciplinary approach to investigate how high CO2 experienced in shrimp farms influences animal acid-base status and how this impacts animal behavior, growth performance, shrimp palatability and shrimp susceptibility to bacterial disease. In addition, we propose to characterize the carbonate system dynamics within the shrimp farm in order to develop measures to help stakeholders create carbonate system conditions that increase animal well–being, productivity and product sensory quality at the same time.

Revealing Cape Verdean marine hotspots: Multidisciplinary, long-term and high-resolution observations with a novel Modular Ecosystem Observatory
Dr. Sascha Flögel,  read more Cape Verde (CV) waters are the habitat of unique populations of pelagic predatory fishes and sharks. A poor understanding of key regions for these predators and their prey prevents proper management and conservation and underlines the need for ecosystem data. We propose to develop an interlinked, multidisciplinary and modular ecosystem observatory that will enable the assessment of temporal dynamics of predators and prey in their biogeochemical and physical environment, using seamounts as testbeds for our proof of concept.