Program

ICYMARE 2024 Conference Preview: Dive into a Week of Marine Science Exploration

Join us for an exciting journey through the depths of marine science at ICYMARE 2024 BREMEN! From groundbreaking research to interactive workshops, our conference promises an unforgettable experience for all marine researchers. Here is a sneak peek at what awaits:

Icebreaker at the Übersee Museum

Date: Monday, 16th September 2024

Time: 6 pm

Location: Übersee Museum (Link)

Kick off the conference in style with an evening of networking and exploration at the iconic Übersee Museum. Connect with fellow attendees through a lively game of human bingo and immerse yourself in the wonders of marine history and culture.

Exploring Together: The Power of Citizen Science

Date: Thursday, 19th September 2024

Time: 7 pm

Location: House of Science (Link)

Be part of a special public event during the Bremen Maritime Week organised by ICYMARE as young researchers present their citizen science initiatives. Discover how the public can contribute to marine conservation and research efforts, spread the word about your own work, and find new supporters for your projects. Think that your project fits in with this? Call for applications is coming soon – stay tuned!

Post-Conference Party

Date: Friday, 20th September 2024

Time: tba

Location: tba

Celebrate the culmination of a week filled with knowledge and collaboration at our lively post-conference party. Join us for an evening of music, dancing, and camaraderie as we toast to the success of ICYMARE 2024 BREMEN.

Special Highlight: ICYMARE represents ECR at the Forschungsmeile

Date: 21st and 22nd September 2024

Location: ‘Schlachte’ boardwalk in Bremen

Don’t miss this unique opportunity as ICYMARE takes centre stage at the Forschungsmeile, showcasing the innovative research of early career researchers. Contributions from conference participants are more than welcome. Stay tuned for more information on how you can get involved!

The comprehensive conference schedule, including all sessions, workshops, and keynote speeches, will be released once abstract submissions are confirmed. Anticipate the complete program to be accessible by late summer 2024 in the weeks leading up to the conference. We encourage you to revisit this page or stay connected through our social media channels for the most recent updates.

ICYMARE 2023 Program

18:00 - 21:00          ICEBREAKER

Join the ICYMARE Icebreaker at the Natural History Museum Oldenburg

>>  The State Museum for Nature and Man (Landesmuseum für Natur und Mensch)  <<
>>  Damm 38-44, 26135 Oldenburg <<

07:00 - 07:30          REGISTRATION & WELCOME COFFEE

08:30 - 08:45          OPENING

>>  Lecture Hall  <<

08:45 - 09:45          KEYNOTE SPEECH & PLENARY DISCUSSION

Supporting the career development of Young Marine Researchers – Murat Eren (Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB))

>>  Lecture Hall  <<

09:45 - 10:00          BREAKFAST BREAK

10:00 - 10:30          POLLS

>>  Room S318 <<

10:30 - 10:45          GROUP PHOTO

10:45 - 11:15          COFFEE BREAK

11:15 - 12:30          PARALLEL SESSIONS

>>  Lecture Hall  <<

SESSION 2.2

Impacts of Climate Change on Biogeochemical Processes in Polar Regions

>>  Seminar Room A  <<

SESSION 1.1

Ecological modelling of marine communities: where we are and where we are going

12:30 - 13:15          LUNCH BREAK (self organized)

13:15 - 14:00          ROUND TABLE

Topic: (Un)Toxic working environments

>>  Foyer  <<

14:00 - 15:30          PARALLEL SESSIONS

>>  Lecture Hall  <<

SESSION 2.1

Biogeochemical cycles under pressure: Past, present, and future changes

>>  Seminar Room A  <<

SESSION 1.3

Applications of machine learning in marine sciences

SESSION 3.4

Identifying spatial opportunities for NbS design and implementation in marinecoastal areas

15:30 - 16:00          COFFEE BREAK

16:00 - 17:00          PARALLEL SESSIONS

>>  Lecture Hall  <<

SESSION 6.0 A

Open Session

>>  Seminar Room A  <<

SESSION 4.1

Dinoflagellates: From (paleo-)environmental reconstructions to modern ecology and harmful algal blooms

17:00          POSTER SESSION

>>  Foyer  <<

07:30 - 08:30          REGISTRATION & WELCOME COFFEE

>>  Main Hall  <<

08:30 - 09:30          KEYNOTE SPEECH"ECOP Germany: Building a network, sharing knowledge & empowering young professionals for the UN Ocean Decade"

Sandra Ketelhake, Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOPs) programme

>>  Lecture Hall  <<

09:30 - 09:45          BREAKFAST BREAK

09:45 - 10:45          PARALLEL SESSIONS

>>  Lecture Hall  <<

SESSION 2.3 A

Physical, biogeochemical as well as microbiological processes and their interactions in coastal ecosystems

>>  Seminar Room A  <<

SESSION 4.8 A

Tropical coastal ecology: biodiversity, research and conservation

10:45 - 11:15          COFFEE BREAK

11:15 - 12:30          PARALLEL SESSIONS

>>  Lecture Hall  <<

SESSION 2.3 B

Physical, biogeochemical as well as microbiological processes and their interactions in coastal ecosystems

>>  Seminar Room A  <<

SESSION 4.8 B

Tropical coastal ecology: biodiversity, research and conservation

12:30 - 13:15          LUNCH BREAK (self organized)

13:15 - 14:00

>>  Foyer  <<

ROUND TABLE

Topic: Scientific diving

>>  Info Table  <<

ECOP Networking Meeting

Sandra Ketelhake, Simon Jungblut

14:00 - 15:30          SESSION

>>  Lecture Hall  <<

SESSION 2.3 C

Physical, biogeochemical as well as microbiological processes and their interactions in coastal ecosystems

>>  Seminar Room A  <<

SESSION 3.1

Marine Governance and Conservation

15:30 - 16:00          COFFEE BREAK

16:00 - 17:15          PARALLEL SESSIONS

>>  Lecture Hall  <<

SESSION 6.0 B

Open Session

>>  Seminar Room A  <<

SESSION 3.1

Marine Governance and Conservation

17:15 - 18:00          JOINT PIZZA ORDERING

18:00          SCIENCE SPEED MEETING

>>  Seminar Room A  <<

07:30 - 08:30          REGISTRATION & WELCOME COFFEE

08:30 - 09:30          KEYNOTE SPEECH" Equity at a crossroads: Inclusivity and justice in marine policy, research, and in ourlives and careers"

Marie Fujitani, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research; Institute for Geography, University of Bremen

09:30 - 45:45          BREAKFAST BREAK

>>  Main Hall  <<

09:45 - 10:45          PARALLEL SESSIONS

>>  Lecture Hall  <<

SESSION 3.2 A

What options do we have? Integrated scenarios for shaping the future of our oceans

>>  Seminar Room  <<

SESSION 4.2 A

The Future Ocean Biological Carbon Pump

10:45 - 11:15          COFFEE BREAK

11:15 - 12:30          PARALLEL SESSIONS

>>  Lecture Hall  <<

SESSION 3.2 A

What options do we have? Integrated scenarios for shaping the future of our oceans

>>  Seminar Room  <<

SESSION 4.2 A

The Future Ocean Biological Carbon Pump

12:30 - 13:30          LUNCH BREAK

13:15 - 14:00          OTHER

>>  Foyer  <<

ROUND TABLE

Topic: Mental health

>>  Info Table  <<

NFDI4Earth Academy Info Table

Melina Knoke & Carolin Müller

14:00 - 18:00          WORKSHOPS

>>  Lecture Hall  <<

THE FOUNDATION OF MEASUREMENTS: METROLOGY

Rieke Schäfer, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt

>>  Seminar Room C  <<

WHAT IS ORGANISMS DEMOCRACY BALTIC SEA AND WHO WILL SPEAK FOR THE CHINESE MITTEN CRAB?

Georg Reinhardt, Organisms Democracy NGO and artists collective Club Real

>>  Seminar Room B  <<

DIVERSITY IN SCIENCE – NO BRAINER OR LONG WAY TO GO?

Sam Schwickert, Spielköpfe

>>  Seminar Room A  <<

THE IMPORTANCE OF STUPIDITY IN SCIENCE

Yvonne & Caro, ICYMARE

>>  Main Entrance  <<

MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE OLDENBURG

Franziska Ohl

20:00          BAR HOPPING EVENING

Get to know the beautiful city of Oldenburg by hopping from bar to bar

07:30 - 08:30          REGISTRATION & WELCOME COFFEE

>>  Main Hall  <<

08:30 - 09:30          KEYNOTE SPEECH"Gender(ed) aspects in interdisciplinary marine sciences, island studies and knowledge exchange - a (not so) scientific biography"

Annette Breckwoldt, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research

>>  Lecture Hall  <<

09:30 - 09:45          BREAKFAST BREAK

09:45 - 10:45          PARALLEL SESSIONS

>>  Lecture Hall  <<

SESSION 4.5

Effects of Host-Microbiome Interactions - from Single Cell Physiology to Ecosystem Impacts

>>  Seminar Room A  <<

SESSION 4.3 A

Marine megafauna in the Anthropocene: threats, challenges, and perspectives

10:45 - 11:15          COFFEE BREAK

11:15 - 12:30          PARALLEL SESSIONS

>>  Lecture Hall  <<

SESSION 4.4

Animal telemetry from freshwater to the oceans

>>  Seminar Room A  <<

SESSION 4.3 B

Marine megafauna in the Anthropocene: threats, challenges, and perspectives

SESSION 6.0 C

Open Session

12:30 - 13:15          LUNCH BREAK (self organized)

13:15 - 14:00          OTHER

>>  Foyer  <<

JOB APPLICATIONS

Topic: Mental health

14:00 - 15:30          PARALLEL SESSIONS

>>  Lecture Hall  <<

SESSION 4.6 A

Interactions and stressors in benthic communities: predicting future changes and advancing behavioral ecology

>>  Seminar Room A  <<

SESSION 5.1

Utilizing DNA metabarcoding methods to overcome challenges in studying marine organisms

15:30 - 16:00          COFFEE BREAK

16:00 - 17:15          PARALLEL SESSIONS

>>  Lecture Hall  <<

SESSION 4.6 B

Interactions and stressors in benthic communities: predicting future changes and advancing behavioral ecology

>>  Seminar Room A  <<

SESSION 6.0

Open Session

17:15          FAREWELL

Best talk/poster awards & Project pitches

20:00          POST CONFERENCE PARTY

The grand closing party! We will celebrate a full week of fantastic science, networking and inspiration! Don’t miss this great party with dancing & drinks rounding up an exciting conference week.

ICYMARE 2023 Sessions

1 Data Science

Hosted by Livia Oliveira and Silvia Malagoli

Marine ecosystems host an enormous variety of marine communities, many of which are crucial to Earth’s and our well-being. From theory to management applications, models allow us to disentangle underlying natural mechanisms governing these communities, to make predictions and to inform conservation policies. As such, ecosystem models are a fundamental tool in marine sciences. In this session we invite abstracts presenting state-of-the-art modelling techniques that aim to understand ecological communities at any trophic level, with possible management applications or even data descriptors.

Hosted by Maria Katherina Dal Barco and Federica Zennaro

Coastal and transitional environments have been identified as sentinels of climate change since they can reveal the progressive increase in multiple hazards. Accordingly, an integrated approach is needed to identify the main causes of risk and, at the same time, to design the most appropriate adaptation measures. In this regard, Machine Learning (ML) approaches could model the interaction between multiple risks and their components, highlighting complex and non-linear behaviours at different spatio-temporal scales. For this session, we encourage innovative cross-sectorial (e.g., environmental, socio-economic) ML applications focusing on sea-level rise, water quality degradation, coastal erosion, biodiversity loss, among others.

Hosted by Hameed Moqadam and Patricia Schöntag

With the improvements in computing power and the abundance of already existing data, machine learning has been increasingly applied in a variety of scientific fields. While traditional physical modeling has been proven effective, in marine and earth system sciences there is still much potential in exploiting data-driven methods in order to gain faster and deeper insights from the already existing data and make the most out of new measurements. We would like to invite colleagues using data science, machine learning, data assimilation, and data mining to present their research explaining and forecasting the complex relations among marine ecosystems.

2 Biogeochemical Processes

Hosted by Melina Knoke and Rieke Schaefer

Marine biogeochemical cycles range from the surface and deep ocean to marine sediments. Anthropogenic pressures on marine biogeochemistry are increasing, including rising temperature, eutrophication and ocean acidification. To understand anthropogenic global impacts on the open ocean, an understanding of past and present biogeochemical cycles is essential to predict changes in our oceans, marine life and organic matter. Approaches and methods for monitoring biogeochemical cycles include, for example, modelling approaches or in situ measurements. We welcome studies improving our understanding of interactions and changes to marine biogeochemical cycles in the global oceans as well as their monitoring.

Hosted by Claudia Schmidt and Chantal Mears

Polar regions are particularly vulnerable to increasing anthropogenic and climate change impacts, causing repercussions on ice cover, hydrography, water chemistry and pollution levels of water, air and sediment. With continued exposure to stressors, concern arises that these perturbations could potentially lead to irreversible consequences on the functionality of polar ecosystems. To further understanding within these multifaceted, albeit sensitive areas, we invite contributions that shed light on the complex relationships between multiple stressors and changes in biogeochemical cycles of Arctic and Antarctic regions. Here, we aim to focus on how carbon sequestration or other ecosystem services change, across multiple time scales ranging from paleo-oceanography to seasonal cycles.

Hosted by Magali Roberts and Felix Auer

Coastal ecosystems are major transition zones at the land-sea interface where physical changes strongly influence biogeochemical and microbiological processes. Coastal systems are subject to different gradients, redox and freshwater-saltwater, as well as strong hydro- and morphodynamics, tides and waves. Those gradients and dynamics have an impact on flow and transport patterns, biogeochemical reactions and microbiological habitats. Investigating how these interactions can affect coastal ecosystems requires interdisciplinary research. In our session, we aim to bring together young scientists from different backgrounds to present their work addressing physical, biogeochemical or microbiological processes and their interactions in coastal ecosystems.

3 Marine Social Science

Hosted by Wiebke Homes and Jana Stahl

Human dimensions have traditionally been lacking in marine and coastal science and policy. However, as anthropogenic pressures on the marine ecosystem continue to increase, there is a growing need to consider the multifaceted relationships between people and oceans to develop effective conservation and management measures. In our session, we are looking forward to discussing how governance structures, formal and informal institutions, and other social processes drive the evolution and choice of different conservation approaches. We are excited to receive abstracts that apply methods and approaches from social and political sciences to local, regional, or national marine governance and conservation issues.

Hosted by Jonathan Heimer

Under human pressure, the oceans are changing at a rapid pace. To map future pathways on a local or global scale, science-based scenarios can be a powerful tool. They make scientific knowledge tangible and help communities adapt and shape their ocean-related futures based on options for action. Whether you are working on ocean assessment, modelling, building coastal oceans in collaboration with local communities, or any other area of work related to the ocean of the future, we invite you to contribute your expertise and share your experiences.

Hosted by Eva Sinemus and Federica Catonini

Blue carbon ecosystems are critical for climate change mitigation and adaptation. However, blue carbon is under threat from human activities, including pollution and habitat destruction. It is therefore imperative to understand the interplay of legal, societal and scientific dimensions of these ecosystems in order to develop effective management strategies that consider the complex interactions between these dimensions. We invite abstracts for a panel that brings together young researchers sharing their perspectives on how law, policy and science can work together to support the sustainable management of blue carbon ecosystems for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Hosted by Elena Allegri and Cengiz Arslan

Societies are facing ever-growing number of challenges for human health and wellbeing due to biodiversity loss, climate change impacts, and unsustainable economic and social development. Nature-based Solutions (NBS) have emerged as an important component of the overall response to these challenges. However, policymakers, practitioners, and scientists need to better understand how to identify spatial opportunities in a transdisciplinary manner for targeting effective NBS in marine-coastal ecosystems. This session invites presentations on methods, approaches, and applications from various fields of studies that identify opportunities for the design and implementation of marine-coastal NBS and for the prioritization of suitable areas for NBS application.

4 Marine Ecology

Hosted by Runa Reuter

Dinoflagellates are amongst the major primary producers in the ocean. Some dinoflagellates are known to produce highly resistant and preservable resting cysts making them important research targets for (but not limited to) (paleo-)environmental reconstructions, biostratigraphy, and the study of marine organic matter decomposition. This session aims to bring together marine early career researchers from different disciplines, studying living or fossil dinoflagellates, providing a forum to discuss the latest advances of their studies. Contributions regarding all aspects of dinoflagellate research, from modern settings to the geological past, are invited. Presentations covering novel or unconventional approaches or ideas are particularly encouraged.

Hosted by Kea Witting

In a changing ocean, assessing possible scenarios for the Biological Carbon Pump (BCP) locally and globally becomes more important than ever. With rising atmospheric carbon dioxide, ecosystem structures are likely altered which results in alterations in the BCPs carbon export potential. Detangling pathways of the BCP on ecosystem scales still poses a challenge. Harmonizing in situ observation methods with classical approaches across research institutes could help solve this problem. This session invites contributions on changing pathways of the BCP and future indications they can hold. Example studies using various techniques to investigate BCP dynamics are welcome.

Hosted by Ramona Mattmueller and Svenja Woehle

Despite conservation efforts, marine megafauna is challenged by increasing threats: chemical and plastic pollution, ghost nets, increasing noise levels, fishing, tourism, oil spills, and habitat changes caused by anthropogenic climate change, to name a few. These anthropogenic threats alter the acoustic space, (acoustic) behaviour, energetics, and physiology of these species, including impacts on potential populations such as genetic bottlenecks, increasing mortality, or displacement from important foraging or breeding areas, as well as other impacts on the biodiversity of marine megafauna. This session aims to bring together current knowledge on marine megafauna ecology and methods for studying and protecting these elusive species.

Hosted by Arc’hantael Labrière and Lotte Pohl

Aquatic telemetry is becoming a common technique using animal-borne tags to study movement on various scales or even intra- and inter-specific interactions. By quantifying animal movement remotely, management decisions involving fisheries, protected areas and conservation can be greatly improved. Telemetry helps to complete knowledge gaps of the tagged species by detecting individuals without having to capture them. It also provides fundamental knowledge on endangered or invasive species, including large-scale animal migrations. This session aims to bring together current telemetry research across a diversity of taxonomic groups as well as spatio-temporal scales.

Hosted by Marrit Jacob and Alessandra Kronschnabel

Host-bacteria interactions occur in all ecosystems and affect the physiology of the interacting partners. These interactions can be beneficial, neutral, or harmful for one or both partners and may have cascading effects on ecological communities. The recognition and chemical communication between interacting partners are often mediated through the exchange of metabolites. In the marine realm, the exact processes behind these cross-kingdom interactions are largely unknown. This session invites studies exploring the mechanisms involved in host-microbiome interactions and their small- and large-scale effects on single cells, populations, ecological communities, and ecosystems.

Hosted by Lola Nader

Benthic invertebrates, like sponges and bivalves, vastly affect nutrient cycling in the marine realm, fuel ecosystem productivity and biodiversity, and structure the surrounding habitat. Therefore, it is important to understand the functioning of benthic invertebrates in complex interactions and a changing ocean. This illuminates the evolutionary history and behavioral traits of the studied organisms beyond undisturbed experimental conditions. Sharing knowledge on intrinsic feedbacks and future changes in benthic communities supports further research and management strategies. Presenters are invited to share insights on the role of interactions and variables of global change on metabolism, microbiome, distribution, and resilience of benthic organisms.

Hosted by Walter Pisco Limones

The migration of marine animals is an important phenomenon that has significant implications for conservation efforts. Studying the movement patterns of these species is crucial to develop effective conservation measures. However, there are still knowledge gaps and challenges that need to be addressed by future research initiatives. One major challenge is the difficulty in tracking the movements of marine animals over long distances and in remote areas. Technological advancements in tracking devices and satellite imagery have helped to overcome this challenge to some extent, but there is still much to be learned about the migratory routes and behaviors of these animals.We invite you to submit your abstract to share and learn about different tools that are being used to investigate animal migrations. We also welcome research showcasing how scientists’ outcomes are implemented into conservation approaches.

Hosted by Roman Petrochenko and Vadim Merkin

Tropical ecosystems are seriously affected by modern environmental changes, but coastal ecosystems are doubly suppressed both due to terrestrial and marine pollution and global warming. Thus, they need to be prospected and protected as ones of the most diverse ecosystems on the Earth. We are looking for new researches in the field of coastal tropical biodiversity, new methods and approaches for coastal ecosystems to have more rational research, conservation and usage. If you have some new ways to improve our knowledge of tropical coastal ecosystems or contribute to further conservation, please be sure to send us your abstracts!

5 OMICs

Maths and Physics in ocean science to observe and understand complex environmental systems and ecological datasets

Hosted by Annkathrin Dischereit and Ayla Murray

DNA metabarcoding is a promising tool in marine research with a wide range of applications. It is used to supplement or replace traditional methods such as net catches and visual surveys as well as being employed in trophic and microbiome studies. In this session we welcome all studies using DNA metabarcoding to investigate biodiversity, rare or invasive species detection, monitoring, or diet spectra in marine environments. We also welcome all studies in closely related fields including bioinformatics or OMICs.

Hosted by Justin Tierney

Omics-based tools have the potential to revolutionize ocean farming by providing a comprehensive understanding of biological systems at the molecular level. This session aims to showcase the latest advancements in omics-based tools and their applications in addressing challenges in ocean farming such as disease management, environmental monitoring, and improving the efficiency of aquaculture production. If your research focuses on any aspect of these challenges, please join us as we explore the exciting potential of omics-based tools in shaping the future of sustainable ocean farming.

6 Open Session

If you think your research does not fit into any of our other sessions, please feel free to submit your abstract to the open session!

ICYMARE 2023 Keynotes

Speaker: Murat Eren, Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB)
Moderation: Simon Jungblut

The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines a ‘mentor’ as ‘an experienced person who advises and helps somebody with less experience over a period of time’. While it sounds straightforward enough, effective mentorship is extremely difficult, even though it is arguably one of the most critical endeavours in science. The purpose of this talk is to help early-career researchers recognize the role of mentors in science and their likely impact on their careers and wellbeing, and help them identify ways by which they make informed decisions regarding what to expect and look for in their next mentors.

Speaker: Sandra Ketelhake, Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOPs) programme; GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Moderation: Simon Jungblut

The United Nations Ocean Decade (2021 – 2030) is a crucial moment to prepare and connect a generation of professionals motivated to take the lead in addressing multiple ocean challenges. Since the First Global Planning Meeting of the Decade, Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOPs) have been an integral part of the Decade. The international ECOP Programme elevates and strengthens the diverse perspectives of new generations of ocean professionals through a collective voice, ensuring that knowledge is transferred between experienced professionals and ECOPs to promote ocean sustainability for “The Ocean We Want”. With ECOP Germany, we aim to channel efforts and build opportunities, while creating a network that leverages the synergies with ongoing initiatives. ECOP Germany is just gaining momentum and we welcome every German or resident that self-identifies as being early in their career in any ocean-related field (research, education, government, industry, NGO, etc.) to join our national network. In this keynote, we will present the overall vision & mission of the international ECOP Programme, focussing on ideas we have for ECOP Germany, and show some national initiatives that contribute to knowledge sharing and offer opportunities for exchange.

Speaker: Marie Fujitani, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research; Institute for Geography, University of Bremen
Moderation: Julia Jung

Three prominent themes in academic discourse recently have centred on equity – equity in policy processes and outcomes, equity in research practice and collaborations, and issues of equity in academic careers. These themes in the marine sciences bridge environmental sustainability and social justice and have shared principles of inclusivity, representation, and participation. Equity in policy, research, and academic career development can lead to more robust and sustainable outcomes through more diverse inputs and outputs, dismantling systemic barriers, amplifying underrepresented voices, and fostering an environment where all individuals can thrive and contribute meaningfully. This is absolutely necessary to achieve a sustainable future for our oceans and the communities that depend on them. In this keynote, I explore the overlaps between these parallel concepts of equity, their best practices and benefits, and the challenges and their intersections, drawing on my own experience in international sustainable development research, policy, and as a mother in an academic career path.

Speaker: Annette Breckwoldt, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research
Moderation: Lena Rölfer

On this last morning of the week, let me take you on a short (non-linear) biographic journey from island to island, from lesson to lesson.  As a marine biology graduate, island nerd and UN consultant, I started to understand the unique challenges and opportunities faced by small islands and their communities. Aspects such as environmental sustainability, economic development, cultural preservation, and social resilience, were all of a sudden hard to consider separately, and fed directly into my interdisciplinary curiosity. Islands somehow remained (the) one steady feature of my work. Now it combines natural and social science approaches to support the participatory, inter- and transdisciplinary integration of academic and ecosystem user knowledge on coastal marine resources and their various functions. Glimpses of what happened ‘on the side’ – becoming a supervisor, octopus mum, board member, tropical researcher on Iceland, and equal opportunity representative – will accompany my (not so) scientific love token.

ICYMARE 2023 Workshops

Workshop host: Georg Reinhardt

How can marine biology research be brought closer to the public? How can we involve more people in the dramatic stories that take place and come alive for marine biologists in the data and charts? Maybe with a theatre performance staging political discussion between different species of the Balitc Sea? Or maybe we can even ask the audience to take the perspective of a Chinese mitten crab and argue on its behalf.

We would like to offer a perspective how performing art, and participatory practices can help translate important research results to the larger public and get your perspective and opinion on how Organisms Democracy Baltic Sea should continue. We would like to discuss with you how science could and should be part of a „democracy of all species“.

What are the challenges for a multi species coexistence amidst climate crisis and ongoing human colonisation of the ecosystem Baltic Sea? Should humans share political power and involve other species in decisions on marine ecosystems? What is Organisms Democracy and could it be a chance for the Baltic Sea?

Organisms Democracy is a cultural and political practise that has been developed by the artists group Club Real with citizens representing more than human species in different ecosystems in Germany, Austria and Sweden. In our Workshop at ICYMARE we would like to ask questions, explore possibilities, and create alliances for a possible Organisms Democracy Baltic Sea.

Organisms Democracy NGO and artists collective Club Real

Workshop host: Samantha Schwickert

Science aspires to be neutral, inclusive, and egalitarian. This is also important in the marine sciences, where the sustainable management and use of resources needs to consider the voices of different disciplines as well as societal stakeholders. However, who actually has access to the scientific system? Do we all truly have the same opportunities within this system? What are privileges, and how do they influence social inequality and even “neutral” science? During our workshop, we aim to discuss and visualize these questions to better understand the significance and impact of privileges. We will explore mechanisms of social inclusion and exclusion and engage in conversations about subconscious stereotypes, e.g., gender, race, and age. Through playful and interactive activities, we will uncover the inequalities that exist, particularly within the scientific system, and why it is crucial to reflect upon our own privileges if we want to achieve diversity and equality in science. Thus, the workshop is targeted at everyone within the ICYMARE community and beyond, who is open to discuss and reflect on this topic in a safer space. Sam Schwickert studied physics and sustainability science before she co-founded Spielköpfe, a social start-up dealing with gender-equality and anti-discrimination.

Spielköpfe, Bach und Fischer GbR

Workshop host: Rieke Schäfer

Measurements play a central role in marine sciences. A huge number of variables, such as temperature, pressure, pH and many others, are constantly measured around the world. But have you ever considered how we actually know if measurements across the globe are comparable? Or do you know how to calculate how much to trust each measurement? Both are important questions and they are the core of what metrology does. Metrology is the science of measurements, not to be confused with meteorology – the science of weather. Metrology is all about understanding measurements better and ensuring that we can compare the things we measure. How much can we trust the result we get? How well do we know all the factors that influence our measurement? Answering these questions gives us an idea of the uncertainty associated with the values we get. A part of this is to ensure traceability which is a direct connection to SI-base units for every measurement. This connection ensures that two measurements of the same unit can be compared within their uncertainty. In this workshop, we want to explore the concepts of metrology and how they are or could be implemented in your work. I will briefly present the key concepts of metrology, give you an overview why these are important, and explain how traceability is achieved. Our example case will be seawater pH measurements, on which I am currently working as part of the SapHTies project. Then we will discuss your examples and questions. Together, we can think about your measurements and how they are embedded in the overall landscape of measurements. This will highlight the potential of rigorous application of metrology to have more trustworthy results.

Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt

Workshop hosts: Yvonne Schadewell & Carolin Müller

Ever felt insecure about your professional knowledge, competencies, and skills? Ever reached that point at which you felt like instantly quitting what you are doing as you are eventually not the right person to do that course, that degree, that job? Well, we’ve all been there and, most certainly, so have your supervisors (back in those days… and maybe still now). While we do not promise to offer a solution to our shared imposter syndrome, we warmly invite you to exchange your stories with us. We believe that accepting that feeling stupid once in a while may even advance you as a scientist and researcher. We also believe that this feeling can even be used in your own favour! Interested how? Then don’t hesitate and join us and embrace stupidity with us! Expected Workshop Outcomes: Best-case scenario: we learn from each other methods and tools how to overcome these challenging episodes by accepting that stupidity is part of our professional and private life. Worst case scenario: a sorrow shared is a sorrow halved!

ICYMARE