YOUMARES10THEOCEANS:

OURRESEARCH,OURFUTURE

FinalReport

11.-13.September,Hamburg

NORDAKADEMIEGraduateSchool

Van-der-Smissen-Straße9

22767Hamburg

YOUMARES is an event organized by the GermanSocietyforMarineResearche.V.(DeutscheGesellschaCfürMeeresforschunge.V.)

ParRcipants:110PresentaRons:18Poster:12

ThisyeartheYOUMARES-ConferenceforYOUngMArineRESearcherstookplacefrom11.-13.SeptemberinHamburg,Dockland(NORDAKADEMIEGraduateSchool).Withover100parVcipants,5sessionsfilledwithexciVngpresentaVonsandpostersbynaVonalandinternaVonalBachelor,Master, PhDstudentsandyoungscienVsts, withfurtherkeynotesoncurrenttopics inmarineresearchaswellasworkshopsandexcursions,theconferencedelightedandgaveinteresVngandinspiringviewsintothefutureofmarineresearch.InaddiVontostudentsandyoungscienVsts,thisyear20pupilstookpartintheconferenceforthefirstVme.

Thisyear'sYoumaresconferencewasalsopartoftheprogramofthe100thanniversaryoftheUniversityofHamburg.

ICEBREAKER – BARGE-TOUR EXPLORING

THEELBE(Wednesday,11.09.19–18:00)

The Youmares conference started onWednesday evening with the annualIcebreaker. The barge trip started fromDocklandandwentalongtheriverElbe,incooperaVon with the Förderkreis »ReaetdieElbe«e.V.In addiVon to the opportunity to get toknoweachother,thisyeartheparVcipantsgot informaVon on the drasVcanthropogenic effects on the ecosystemand the biodiversity of the Elbe. KlausBaumgardt reported on thedeepeningofthe Elbe, oxygen holes and how these affect twait shad, smelt and other species and theirpopulaVonsintheElbe.

KlausBaumgardtfromtheFörderkreis»Re7etdieElbe«e.V.

OFFICIALOPENING(Thursday,12.09.19

–8:30)

Theofficial openingof theYOUMARESconference began with a welcome byProf.Dr.DieterHanelt (CEODGM)andFrankSchweikert(DGM)andawelcomespeech from the President of theFederal MariVme and HydrographicAgency (BSH) Karin Kammann-Klippstein.This was followed by key notes fromRaphaelle Flint (IUCN) on theintegraVon of marine research intonatureconservaVonandtheroleoftheIUCN,fromtheSeebrückeHamburgonsea rescue and from Dr. Iris Ziegler(SHARKPROJECT Germany e.V.) on theroleofscienceandeco-labelsintheprotecVonofbiodiversityandmarineecosystems.

SESSIONSYOUMARES10(Thursday,12.09.19–10:00-17:00)

In4sessionsondifferenttopicsofmarineresearch,aswellasanopensession,studentsandyoungscienVstspresentedtheirresearch.FollowingtherespecVvepresentaVonstherewasthepossibilityfor all parVcipants to parVcipate in a short discussion led by the session chairs and to askquesVons.

Dr.IrisZieglerfromSHARKPROJECTGermanye.V.attheofficialopeningoftheYOUMARESconference

Blue Growth – Aquaculture, Fisheries and Marine Biotechnology – Prof. Dr. Dieter Hanelt

(UniversitätHamburg)

ClimateChange–Prof.Dr.IngaHense(UniversitätHamburg)

MarinepolluRon – SarahZwicker(Alfred-Wegener-InsRtutHelmholtz-ZentrumfürPolar-und

Meeresforschung)

MarineBiodiversity–Prof.Dr.AndreasSchmidt-Rhaesa(CeNakUniversitätHamburg)

OpenSession–ChrisRneRundt(Oceans&Lakes-VrijeUniversiteitBrussel)

InaddiVontotheoralpresentaVons,12postersofstudentsweredisplayedduringthe3daysoftheconference,presenVngtheirscienVficwork.

SCIENCE MEETS ECONOMY EVENING & NORDAKADMIE YOUMARES young talent award

(Thursday,12.09.19–17:00)

ACer the sessions and at the beginning of the "Science Meets EconomyEvening", Dr. WalterKühnlein(ChairmanoftheAssociaVonforMarineTechnology- GesellschaCfürMariVmeTechnike.V.-GMT)togetherwiththeboardoftheNORDAKADEMIE FoundaVon Prof. GeorgPlate, the board member ofNORDAKADEMIE Dipl.-Ing. Jörg Meier, theboard members of the DGM Prof. Dr.DieterHaneltandFrankSchweikertandtheSenatorforScience,ResearchandEqualityKatharina Fegebank the NORDAKADEMIEYOUMARES young talent award of theconferencewasawarded.TheawardwasgiventoManuel Marinelli(ProjectManaia), whoconvinced,withhispresentaVon on “CrowdsourcingdistribuVonpaaernsofinvasivespecies intheMediterraneanSea“,whichwaspartofthesessiononmarinebiodiversity.

NORDAKADEMIEYOUMARESyoungtalentaward(FrankSchweikert,Dr.WalterKühnlein,Prof.Dr.DieterHanelt,KatharinaFegebank,ManuelMarinelli,Dipl.-Ing.JörgMeierundProf.GeorgPlate)

SecondmayorandSenatorforScience,ResearchandEqualityKatharinaFegebank

The "Science meets Economy Evening", organized in cooperaVon with the GesellschaC fürMariVme Technik e.V. (GMT), built the bridge to future jobs and the economy. Dr. MischaUngermannpresentedhisworkatPlanBlueinBremen,furthercontribuVonscamefromDr.WalterKühnlein(GMT)andFrankSchweikert(DGM).Thesubsequentbuffetandthedrinkontheterraceoffered theopportunity to network and exchange extensively about study programs, doctoralprograms,insVtuVons,companiesandfurtheremploymentandstart-upopportuniVesinthefieldofmarineresearch,marinebiotechnologyoraquaculture.

Also at the following convivial evening in the Karo Beach Club (Zero Waste Beach Club) theparVcipaVonwasstrongandfurtherexchangetookplace.

Dr.WalterKühnlein(GMT)KeynotespeakerDr.MischaUngermann(PlanBlue,Bremen)

WORKSHOPSUNDEXCURSIONS(Friday,13.09.19)

OnFriday,theparVcipantsweregiventheVmeforfurthernetworkinginworkshopsandexcursionsandgetinsightsintoothertopics.

Workshop I: Outreach and educaVon in marine research (ALDEBARAN Marine Research &

Broadcast)

WorkshopII:MoviepresentaVonWind2WinSeaoftheWind–ProjectpresentaVonandzerowasteeverydaylifesoluVons(Wind2Win–VelizaraStoilova)

WorkshopIII:"IUVENTA-distressrescueanactofhumanity"-GuidedscreeningofthemoviewithsupporVngleadanddiscussionbyIUVENTAcrewmemberChristofBrüning

ExcursionI)Guidedtouratthetropicalaquarium(TierparkHagenbeck)

ExcursionII)FreeadmissionattheInternaRonalMariRmeMuseumHamburgforthewholeday

ExcursionIII)TouronboardtheresearchandmediavesselALDEBARAN

ExcursionIV)GuidedtourtothesecretsofthemarinecollecVonofCeNak(CenterforNaturalHistory–UniversitätHamburg)

BESTPOSTER&BESTPRESENTATION

All parVcipants of the conference could choose the 3 best presentaVons and posters of theYOUMARES10.Prizeswerebookvouchers,providedbythecooperaVonpartnerSpringerNature.

Guidedtourbehindthescenesofthetropicalaquarium(TierparkHagenbeck)

MarineresearchandbroadcastvesselALDEBARAN

PresentaRons:

1) Tim Kiessling: PlasVc Pirates invesVgate anthropogenic liaer polluVon at Germanriversides–resultsandinsightsfromalarge-scaleciVzenscienceproject

2) Manuel Marinelli: CrowdsourcingdistribuVon paaerns of invasivespeciesintheMediterraneanSea

3) Dr. Isabel Casillas Barragán: Theperfect match afer coral bleaching inClimate Change: an impossible lovestory

Posters:

1) Alexander Knorrn: Larval developmentand distribuVonof Ranzania laevis (Pennant,1776) and Masturus lanceolatus (Liénard, 1840) across thermal frontal zones in theSargassoSea

2) Lara Denis-Roy: Temperatemacrofaunal and meiofaunalcommuniVes respond differently toenvironmental factors and pollutantsalongestuarinegradients

3) Anne Kreutzer: Effects ofbioturbaVon on the freely dissolvedhydrophobic organic chemicalcontribuVoninsedimentcoresoftheGermanBight

THANK-YOU

FirstofallmanythankstothepresentersofYoumares10.ThediverseandexciVngpresentaVonsandpostersbroughttheparVcipantsintoconversaVonandencouragedfurtherdiscussions.Asinpreviousyears,theconferencewasorganizedbyayoungvolunteerteamandsupportedbyvolunteersduringtheconference.ThereforeabigthankyoutotheOrgaTeam-SilviaBlum,StevenFranke,FranziskaHollandfromOertzen,JenniferKirsch,KatharinaKoch,NilsKornau,LoaePohl,DianaRico,MayaRiebesellandSarahZwicker.

InaddiVontothecityofHamburg,morethan20sponsorssupportedthetenthConferenceforyoungmarinescienVstsfromallovertheworld.ManythankstothesponsorsandcooperaVonpartnersforthecooperaVonandsupport!

OrgaTeamderYoumares10inHamburg

FAZIT

Over the three days of YOUMARES10, there were manyexciVngand inspiring presentaVons,conversaVonsanddiscussionsinanopenandrelaxedatmosphere.TheparVcipantsandpresentersexchangedideasandtheinvitedpupilswerewellintegrated,gotinsightsintomarineresearchandwereinformedaboutfurtherpossibiliVes.ThefeedbackfromtheparVcipantsandthestudentswasveryposiVve,thereforweaimtoexpandtheofferforpupilstoparVcipateintheYOUMARESthenextyears.

The offer for all YOUMARESparVcipants to parVcipate in theOcean Forum, which was organizedin the framework of the generalmeeVngoftheDGMandtakingplacebeforethebargetriponWednesdayaCernoon,waswellreceived.Alargenumber of the conferenceparVcipantsalreadyarrivedearliertolisten to the interesVng talks byMonika Breuch-Moritz, TorstenThiele (Global Ocean Trust), Dr. IrisZiegler (SHARKPROJECT Germanye.V.)andBorisHerrmann.

OnbehalfoftheBoardoftheGermanMarineResearchSociety

ProfessorDieterHaneltandFrankSchweikert

AswellasfortheYOUMARESOrgateam

NoraKolter

Appendix:

ProgramYoumares10

AbstractKlausBaumgardt(Förderkreis»ReaetdieElbe«e.V.)

BorisHermannrepor_ngabouthisoceancrossingtogetherwithGretaThunberg

SEPTEMBER11th-13th

VENUE:NORDAKADEMIEGraduateSchool|Van-der-Smissen-Straße9|22767Hamburg

DGMOceanForum

Since2016,theGermanSocietyforMarineResearchorganizesanannualconference<tled"Ocean

Forum"oncurrenttopicsfrommarineresearchfor its membersandguests. Inpar<cular, this

eventshouldhelptosupportthestatutorygoalsofthecompanyandgenerateacorresponding

externalvisibility.OnthedayoftheOceanForumtheannualgeneralmee<ngtakesplacetooand

onthenextdaythesuccessfulyouthconferenceYOUMARES,withthegoaltomakeanaMrac<ve

connec<ontothefuturegenera<onofmarineresearchersandtowinnewmembersfortheDGM.

Wednesday,11thSeptember,NORDAKADEMIEGraduateSchool

12.00-14.00 Generalmee<ngGermanSocietyforMarineResearch(guests/DGMmembers)

15.00-17.00 OceanForumMonikaBreuch-Moritz:‘Futurerequirementsformarineresearch'

TorstenThiele(GlobalOceanTrust)–‘Ozean2020-BBNJ,G7,SDG14,BlueCOPundOzean-Dekade:ChancenfürdiedeutscheMeeresforschung’

Dr.IrisZiegler(SHARKPROJECTGermanye.V.)-‘DieRollevonWissenschafund

Öko-SiegelnbeimSchutzderbiologischenVielfaltunddermarinenÖkosysteme'

BorisHerrmann:‘SailingacrosstheAtlan<cwithGretaThunbergtotheUNClimateAc<onSummitonMaliziaII–Oceanclimateeduca<onandmonitoring

ofoceanCO2'

AllYoumarespar4cipantsarewelcometojointheOceanForum

YOUMARESConferenceTHEOCEAN:OURRESEARCH,OURFUTURE

Wednesday,11thSeptember,NORDAKADEMIEGraduateSchool

17.00-17.30 YOUMARESregistra<on

18.00-20.00 IcebreakerYOUMARES–Star<ngatDocklandwewillexploretheElbeandlearnabouttheanthropogenicimpactontheecosystem(KlausBaumgardtFörderkreis»Re[etdieElbe«e.V.)-thetourwillendatLandungsbrücken-asnackbyDeutscheSeeandtheYoumaresteamwillbeprovidedonboard

20.00-22.00 ExploringHamburg–Bar-Hoppingwith„scien<ficaccompaniment“

Thursday,12thSeptember,NORDAKADEMIEGraduateSchool

8.00-8.30 Earlyregistra<on&Welcome-Coffee

8.30-9.45 OfficialOpeningOpening:Prof.Dr.DieterHanelt(PresidentoftheDGM)

Welcomeaddress:KarinKammann-Klippstein-PresidentoftheBSH(BundesamtfürSeeschifffahrtundHydrographie)

Keynote:RaphaelleFlint(IUCN)-‘Oceans:Fromresearchtoconserva<on‘

Keynote:Dr.IrisZiegler(SHARKPROJECTGermanye.V.)-‘Theroleofscience

andeco-labelsintheprotec<onofbiodiversityandmarineecosystems-

AcasestudyofhowMSC‘smantrato„stayjustbehindthecrestofthewave“

failstostopthewasteofmarinelifeandallowsthedestruc<onofsensi<ve

habitatstocon<nue‘

Keynote:SeebrückeHamburg–SeaRescueisaduty–notaCrime

9.45-10.15 Coffeebreak&posterpresenta<ons

10.15-11.30 Session:BlueGrowth–Aquaculture,Fisheries&MarineBiotechnology–Prof.Dr.DieterHanelt(UniversitätHamburg)HongZhou:Developmentofmoleculartoolkitsinaqua<cgreenalgae

YekaterinaAstafyeva:Microalgae-BacteriaInterac<ons

Dr.StefanSebök:Combiningland-basedcul<va<onofmarinemacroalgaewith

theproduc<onofbiogas

JackPumpuniFrimpong-Manso:AssessingtheeffectsofreducingdietaryproteinonthegrowthofOreochromisnilo4cusculturedinponds

11.30-13.00 LunchBreak&posterpresenta<ons

13.00-13.45 Session:ClimateChange–Prof.Dr.IngaHense(UniversitätHamburg)SarahRühmkorff:MarineHeatwavesandHypoxicUpwellingImpacttheKey

PredatorAsteriasrubensDr.IsabelCasillasBarragán:TheperfectmatchafercoralbleachinginClimate

Change:animpossiblelovestory

13.45-14.30 Session:MarinePollujon–SarahZwicker(Alfred-Wegener-InsjtutHelmholtz-ZentrumfürPolar-undMeeresforschung)TimKiessling:Plas<cPiratesinves<gateanthropogenicliMerpollu<onatGermanriversides–resultsandinsightsfromalarge-scaleci<zenscience

project

GiuliaLeone:Methodologyfortheextrac<onandiden<fica<onofmicroplas<cs

inherrings(Clupeaharengus),salmon(Salmosalar)andgreysealpups(Halichoerusgrypus)

14.30-15.00 Coffeebreak,cake&posterpresenta<ons

15.00-15.55 Session:MarineBiodiversity–Prof.Dr.AndreasSchmidt-Rhaesa(CeNakUniversitätHamburg)KatharinaKniesz:Firstinsightsintodeep-seascavengersathydrothermalvent

fieldsalongthecentralIndianRidge

ManuelMarinelli:Crowdsourcingdistribu<onpaMernsofinvasivespeciesinthe

Förderkreis »Rettet die Elbe« eVNernstweg 22 22765 HAMBURG Tel.: 040/39 30 01

eMail: foerderkreis@rettet-die-elbe.de http://www.rettet-die-elbe.de

Diversity of the River Elbe

"Alternative Harbour Tour" through the Port of Hamburg

Physical Diversity

The river basin covers an area of 150,000 sqkm, the length of the main stream Labe/Elbe is 1,300

km. The headwaters lie in the Central Highlands surrounding the Bohemian Basin. At the Czech-

German border, the Elbe cuts the mountain frame, and enters the Central Plains near Dresden. From

there, the Elbe and its tributaries flow gently towards the North Sea. Freshwater discharge espe-

cially in summer is low, since no glaciers feed the rivers, in contrast to the Rhine.

40 km east of Hamburg, the Elbe sheds into a broad flood plain (Marschland), to form an inland

delta. The valley is limited by the moraines, shaped in the ice ages (Geest). The branches of the

delta converge at the western border of Hamburg, to form a widening funnel, an estuary, yet 100 km

apart from the mouth into the North Sea.

The digital elevation map displays the natural landscape, and the features man added to and subtrac-

ted from it. Most of the area in the flood plain is diked, harbour and industrial sites elevated homo-

geneously above storm tide level. From the many branches of the delta only Norderelbe and

Süderelbe remained open to flow through. Tributaries are barred from the main stream, and the Elbe

itself is blocked by a weir and locks at Geesthacht, 35 km upstream. Fish passes have been built in

the last ten years, but the job is far from finished. Harbour waters are framed with hard banks,

deepened to -17 meters (NHN, sea level). Dredge and (toxic)waste are piled up to 40 m.

Formally, human activities created a higher diversity of habitat. Why is nature so slow, to occupy

the niches? Physically, the Elbe responded rapidly to pressures, especially carving the shipping

channel into its bed. 150 years ago, with a natural depth of 2 – 4 meters in the main stream, friction

slowed down the tide continuously from the North Sea to the head of tide 40 km upstream of the

harbour, which is called a "hyposynchronous" estuary. The deeper the water, the less of tidal energy

dissipates on its way up. Pushing forward the dikes, blocking tributaries, and framing harbour wa-

ters, converges the tidal wave, which is finally reflected at the weir of Geesthacht. The constant

tidal range of 2.70 m at Cuxhaven is exceeded with 3.70 m at the gauge of St. Pauli. The Elbe has

developed into a "hypersynchronous" estuary, with a tendency still going on since the deepening of

1999, and probably enhanced by the deepening to come now. In the aqueous environment, there is

no rest for succession of biological diversity.

Chemical Diversity

The taste of "terroir", valued by wine-lovers, is a general feature of rivers. Else, migrating fish

would not find their way from the sea to their home waters of spawning. The diverse features of its

geology surely give the Elbe its unique flavour. However, this is completely super seeded by human

activities. In the 1970/1980ties it was discussed, how far levels of heavy metals contamination ex-

ceeded the geological background. The "Ore Mountains" and the "Harz" contain ore deposits of

copper, silver, zinc, lead, and various minor treasures, which were exploited for more than thousand

Anerkannter Umweltverband nach § 60 Bundesnaturschutzgesetz

Gemeinnützig anerkannt: Finanzamt Hamburg-Nord Steuernummer: 17/442/13297

Volksbank Kehdingen IBAN: DE91200697867304485700 BIC: GENODEF1DRO

Förderkreis »Rettet die Elbe« eV Diversity of the River Elbe 2

years. Poor ore, that could not be smelted with ancient technologies, was disposed on heaps, from

where toxic metals were released by acid leaching. It is almost impossible, to separate the true geo-

logical background from that caused by human activities.

Thus we conclude, that chemical diversity is man made, and following the precautionary principle,

it has to be reduced and/or avoided. For chemists, there are enough toxic hot spots of the past to ex-

plore, except in Hamburg, say environmental and port authorities.

Biological Diversity

Phytoplankton is the base of aquatic life. Till 1991, phytoplankton was suppressed in the Elbe wa-

ters by toxic discharges. Then, in the water monitoring station at Bunthaus, an increase of pH was

detected, indicating an algae bloom. With 2/3 of algae concentration, diatomeae are abundant, fol-

lowed by green algae with ¼, various species and occasional cyano bacteria the rest. Water quality

improved from year to year, till the deepening in 1999 brought the backlash. In the deep, turbid, and

dark shipping channel, algae from upstream die off, and instead producing oxygen, degradation of

dead biomass consumes oxygen to levels mortal to fish. The environmental authority of Hamburg

readily declared the algae guilty of "secondary pollution", since by eutrophication from mainly agri-

culture (except Hamburg), too many of them grow upstream. Following this logic, too much fish

spoil water quality, because they shit into the river without treatment.

Macrophytes in the sense of submerse vegetation do not exist in the tidal Elbe. At high tide, light

will not penetrate the turbid water layer. As a substitute, plants at the upper tidal fringe are regarded

as macrophytes, such as phragmites, and the famous Elbe water dropwort (Oenanthe conioides).

The vegetation belt along the high tide line is very sensitive to changes of the tidal regime (see

physical diversity). A hundred years ago, the dropwort covered large areas along the tidal Elbe, to

make them appear white from the distance, when in bloom. Today, they are counted one by one on

the remaining sites.

The Elbe estuary in its natural condition is regarded as one of the most fertile fishing grounds in the

world. It contributed a most convenient supply of protein to Hamburgians 100 years ago. Oxygen

depletion by untreated sewage, toxic discharges, and loss of habitat in favour of shipping, cut fish

stock drastically, and for the fish remaining, a rule was declared: all adult fish suffer from liver dis-

ease. In 1982, the market for Elbe-fish collapsed. Definitively extinct from the Elbe were sturgeon

(Acipenser sturio), salmon (Salmo salar), and Elbe whitefish (Elbschnäpel, Coregonus oxyrinchus

L.). Other species declined from common to endangered, such as twaite shad (Alosa fallax) or

lampetra. Under pressure of environmentalists, industries and municipalities cleaned Hamburg, and

after the German reunion polluters in the former GDR were either closed or refurbished. Optimism

grew, to rehabilitate fish stock. Smelt (Osmerus eperlanus) achieved this without human support.

For commercial fisheries (6 fishing boats survived the dark age), smelt was the first profitable catch

to maintain their business. However, oxygen depletion in the harbour occurred each summer after

the deepening of 1999, and decimated juvenile smelt when floating to the sea. The spiral downward

stopped fisheries in the estuary.

Immigrant species, like the Chinese mitten crab introduced by shipping 100 years ago, do not sub-

stitute lost domestic species, but rather compete with the remaining natives. Aquaculture is no solu-

tion either. Some weeks ago, an investment enterprise announced to grow tiger shrimp on the site of

the sewage treatment, making use of old treatment basins and excess heat from burning dried

sewage sludge. Compared to frozen shrimp from Bangla Desh, it’s climate friendly and fresh!

Resarch and Protection of Diversity

The estuary is the interface of inland waters and the sea, and thus a most fascinating object of re-

search. Political controversies triggered extensive monitoring, with public access to the results. At

the Elbe, a scientist may observe the extinction of species in his lifespan. Or find solutions to pro-

tect and enhance diversity.