Below, students Lea Labitzke, Gesine Wurm and Sven Langkamm share the fascinating insights the participants gained during the field trip led by Prof. Dr. Günter Purschke.
Coastal and mudflat landscapes from a scientific perspective
As part of the master’s/field trip module ‘Developmental and Marine Biology: Sylt’, our trip took us to the Wadden Sea Station of the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in the town of List on the North Frisian island of Sylt from March 23 to April 2. There, we explored the coastal and mudflat landscape from a scientific perspective and gained fascinating insights into the diversity of marine organisms and habitats. In addition to a diverse macrofauna, which includes hermit crabs and starfish, we literally dug deep into the so-called "house beach". There, the fascinating world of meiofauna—tiny animals that live in the pore spaces of marine sands—revealed itself to us. Copepods, annelids, nematodes and many other animals appeared in great numbers. With more than 700 species, this beach is a global biodiversity hotspot, and many species have been discovered and described here for the first time.
Special thanks go to the AWI, which provided us with laboratories, water tanks for storing the organisms, and microscopes. In the laboratories, located in the immediate vicinity of the east beach, we were able to analyse numerous samples, identify organisms and deepen our knowledge of marine biology. For the duration of our stay, we were accommodated at Haus Möbius, a residence also belonging to the AWI. This not only provided us with a comfortable place to sleep, but also a common room where we enjoyed playing board games in the evenings.
Under the watchful eye of the seal
A particular highlight of the field trip was the trip aboard the research vessel “Mya II”. Despite strong winds and rough seas, we gained fascinating insights into the sampling process whilst at sea. Using plankton nets, a dredge and a bow trawl, we were able to collect further marine organisms. We were curiously accompanied by a seal, which watched our work from close quarters. This was a small consolation for the visit to the seal colony, which unfortunately had to be cancelled due to the storm.
A trip to the Morsum Cliff is, of course, an essential part of any visit to Sylt. This unique mixture of rock formations in Europe was formed during the Saale Glacial Period, when the earth’s layers were pushed on top of one another by glacial movement. The exposed layers of dark mica schist, red limonite sand, white kaolin sand and brownish-yellow glacial till are a spectacular sight in Schleswig-Holstein’s oldest nature reserve.
Although we were often accompanied by the wind typical of the North Sea during our stay, we were also treated to plenty of sunny days. Some students even took the opportunity to take a refreshing dip in the still-chilly waters of the North Sea at Weststrand, which was combined with a water sample collection!
Overall, the field trip to Sylt was an informative and varied experience. The intensive scientific work provided an opportunity to learn about the diversity of marine and coastal organisms and to put the theoretical knowledge gained from the lectures into practice. There was also plenty of time for shared experiences, which made this field trip a special memory for everyone involved.
