Benthology

The benthological department focuses on marine organisms living in, on or near the seabed. This group of organisms is a fundamental component of the marine food web. As “bioengineers”, benthic plants and animals shape habitats for other organisms and are hence an essential resource for marine life in general. Our research expertise lies in the description and assessment of coastal and freshwater habitats through underwater videography, dive sample, ship-based sampling, and in categorizing and digitally mapping biotic communities. Firm taxonomic knowledge of our team members, together with the possibility to compare samples with a collection of benthic organisms (including 12,000 archived specimens) and with our own long-term data set (from more than 13,000 plots and 27,000 hauls in North and Baltic Sea), guarantee a reliable classification of species diversity and distribution.