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Ocean Life PhD-student Jérôme is currently on external stay at the University of California Santa Barbara. ]]>Wed, 22 Jan 2020 10:00:24 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=15554bbf-069d-4f70-bbac-fce08bb8861fhttps://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=27b671e7-9c72-499e-9474-587946b80a46
Why do species occur where they are found? Looking at the traits that species carry may provide the answer, since they determine in which type of environment and with which other species it may live. We studied here the distribution of more than 1,200 marine fish species in the North Atlantic and Northeast Pacific to see if traits and the environment could explain their abundance.]]>Wed, 04 Dec 2019 10:10:59 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=27b671e7-9c72-499e-9474-587946b80a46https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=b8d35416-f4d8-4301-9299-7fa8da9e2357
Understandings the conditions leading to fat plankton are therefore important, not only for understanding nutritious conditions of phytoplankton but for the function and trophic transfer of energy in the entire plankton community. Which conditions leads to fat phytoplankton?]]>Tue, 03 Dec 2019 13:30:33 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=b8d35416-f4d8-4301-9299-7fa8da9e2357https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=accd23db-8222-412f-aa34-21631c2d395b
We welcome new faces at the Centre for Ocean Life!]]>Thu, 24 Oct 2019 15:40:43 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=accd23db-8222-412f-aa34-21631c2d395bhttps://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=fe70d1fd-5768-4a47-a6f7-1d6c225a7c3b
Using a game theoretic and mechanistic model, researchers from the Centre for Ocean Life showed how traits influencing predator-prey interactions shape the diel vertical migrating behavior of copepod communities.]]>Thu, 26 Sep 2019 11:43:27 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=fe70d1fd-5768-4a47-a6f7-1d6c225a7c3bhttps://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=04bf0fa5-a88f-4a37-9339-78c0f6e00722
Sea lice on salmon farms are controlled via treatments. Authorities mandate treatments when sea lice infections reach a given threshold. Using a bio-economic model, we show that isolated farms profit most from a high treatment threshold, whereas a low threshold is optimal for farm networks. Operating with a low treatment threshold hence places farms in a tragedy-of-the-commons environment.]]>Wed, 28 Aug 2019 09:49:40 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=04bf0fa5-a88f-4a37-9339-78c0f6e00722https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=34af0129-fdc2-4b62-9903-024054523662
While the planet experiences unprecedented human-induced biodiversity loss, from marine to terrestrial realms, and from microbes to large mammals, evidence that biodiversity enhances ecosystem functioning is developing. In our new paper, we ask, what are the effects of biodiversity in fished ecosystems?]]>Wed, 10 Jul 2019 16:32:17 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=34af0129-fdc2-4b62-9903-024054523662https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=8c288af5-fa38-47a5-9c4f-a23ca488c0a0
A new theoretical model describes the trade-offs and physiological limits determining the body plan of planktonic filter feeders and explains why gelatinous plankton are gelatinous.]]>Thu, 13 Jun 2019 09:43:56 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=8c288af5-fa38-47a5-9c4f-a23ca488c0a0https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=88d5395a-9165-465c-a181-f4811d08ba13
We compiled 14 traits of 1700 marine fish species on three latitudinal gradients to facilitate large-scale studies on fish traits and functional diversity of fish communities.]]>Thu, 02 May 2019 15:15:36 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=88d5395a-9165-465c-a181-f4811d08ba13https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=e46a62d6-fbf3-447f-9c8b-631389a8b72e
Diatoms contribute nearly half of the marine primary production. These microalgae differ from other phytoplankton groups in having a silicified cell wall, which is the strongest known biological material relative to its density. While it has been suggested that a siliceous wall may have evolved as a mechanical protection against grazing, empirical evidence of its defensive role is limited.]]>Mon, 29 Apr 2019 09:44:26 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=e46a62d6-fbf3-447f-9c8b-631389a8b72ehttps://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=786cdf93-6911-479e-be46-cafca4cd58ac
Jellyfish are weird creatures that can reproduce in different modes both sexually and asexually. Similar functional strategies are also present in several other species for both terrestrial and aquatic organisms. However, mechanisms leading to the evolution of this rich reproductive diversity are yet to be clarified. We have developed a game theoretical model based on bet-hedging concept to describe how some of these different reproductive modes can evolve in different environments. ]]>Fri, 01 Mar 2019 09:44:09 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=786cdf93-6911-479e-be46-cafca4cd58achttps://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=2dac87e4-fd36-4753-b752-4cbc49359beb
Defense mechanisms are very common in unicellular plankton. A wide variety of these mechanisms (toxins, shell etc.) is observed and it is rather difficult to quantify the cost of being defended against predators using laboratory experiments. We show that the implementation of the competition-defense tradeoff in a size based model of unicellular plankton affects the size distribution and trophic strategies (auto-, hetero- and mixotrophy) of the emerging community depending on environmental conditions. ]]>Mon, 25 Feb 2019 14:33:14 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=2dac87e4-fd36-4753-b752-4cbc49359bebhttps://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=1dc3fa97-965e-4e4f-a733-ed0bb5ebedd7
A mechanistic model of diatoms reveals a conundrum. The defining physical attributes of diatoms – their silica shell and their large central vacuole – give diatoms an advantage over other phytoplankton taxa from time to time, but cannot in themselves explain why diatoms in general have significantly higher cell division rates than other taxa. ]]>Fri, 22 Feb 2019 15:31:03 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=1dc3fa97-965e-4e4f-a733-ed0bb5ebedd7https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=7abab752-ae96-4553-a808-91fa1b596fb3
Increases in temperature increase enzymatic activity, so one expects growth to also increase. However, this is not always the case. We show that when organisms are resource-limited, an increase in temperature can actually reduce growth, but these physiological effects do not directly translate into a community response.]]>Tue, 12 Feb 2019 13:28:03 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=7abab752-ae96-4553-a808-91fa1b596fb3https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=b7f40092-36ff-4edf-bf24-7e5859abe183
Changes in the distribution of zooplankton in the North Atlantic during the past 55 years has led to major changes in the biological carbon pump.]]>Tue, 12 Feb 2019 09:52:32 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=b7f40092-36ff-4edf-bf24-7e5859abe183https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=b348e90c-cc54-40e8-856d-a4644c90281e
Our traditional view of the interactions between marine organisms is conceptualized as food webs where species interact with one another mainly via direct consumption. However, non-consumptive interactions, such as behaviorally mediated indirect interactions (BMIIs), can influence marine ecosystems as much as consumptive effects. Here we show the first experimental evidence and quantification of bottom-upBMIIs in plankton food webs. ]]>Thu, 07 Feb 2019 10:33:37 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=b348e90c-cc54-40e8-856d-a4644c90281ehttps://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=22392683-1183-46b8-8e5c-d5c31b7b9c39
The North Sea fish community has a long history of intense fishing and environmental change. Scientific bottom trawl surveys, which have been ongoing in the North Sea since the 1980s, provide excellent data on the abundance and spatial distribution of fish species over time. But what if instead of species, we look at how traits have changed over time and space in this community?]]>Tue, 05 Feb 2019 14:26:12 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=22392683-1183-46b8-8e5c-d5c31b7b9c39https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=3e652c42-d74b-450e-ac77-b35ccdee874d
Trade-offs are the cornerstone of trait-based ecology. They describe the advantages and costs of a certain trait, and thus determine when and where organisms with that trait will occur. But, empirical correlations between traits that have no mechanistic interpretation may lead to false trade-offs. Observed correlations between toxin contents in dinoflagellates and their nutrient uptake half-saturation constant is one such example.]]>Mon, 28 Jan 2019 14:13:19 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=3e652c42-d74b-450e-ac77-b35ccdee874dhttps://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=d399b028-3b47-43b4-9252-479f88728b01
Ectotherms often grow to a smaller adult body size when reared in warmer conditions. Typically, this is because development rate increases faster than growth rate with warming, causing individuals to mature earlier but at a smaller size. Yet, few studies have examined how these temperature-size responses are established over the entire life cycle, from egg to adult.]]>Mon, 21 Jan 2019 11:18:06 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=d399b028-3b47-43b4-9252-479f88728b01https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=96effb05-af7f-40be-9f41-2afffc763f3d
A new paper from the Center for Ocean Life shows that the implications of a recent Science paper by Barneche et al. (Science 360(6389): 642) are much less dramatic than they are made to be.]]>Thu, 10 Jan 2019 15:34:51 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=96effb05-af7f-40be-9f41-2afffc763f3dhttps://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=7d461004-4fc6-4c40-97a5-103a73aa5c89
Choanoflagellates are filter feeders and an important component of microbial foodwebs. Because they are theancestors of multicellular life, they have been intensely studied. Some species build an elaborate external ribbon structure. Its function is unknown but we demonstrate that it may significantly increase prey capture efficiency.  ]]>Thu, 10 Jan 2019 13:34:31 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=7d461004-4fc6-4c40-97a5-103a73aa5c89https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=a53c0b25-c862-43e0-9d88-f8e70fa7fcf0
Can we apply economic principles to fish ecology and diel vertical migration? It appears that the way fish and zooplankton behave in the presence of other individuals can be derived from mathematical notions first developed to describe the interactions between several economic players.]]>Fri, 04 Jan 2019 10:06:53 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=a53c0b25-c862-43e0-9d88-f8e70fa7fcf0https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=0a2f6a16-2f81-45a4-9d6d-76530bc60779
Do zooplankton traits matter? Scaling up trade-offs to the global scale. Taxa-transcending traits and trade-offs have been shown through lab experiments and literature analyses. But do they matter for ecology and biogeochemistry on the global scale?  ]]>Tue, 18 Dec 2018 15:30:29 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=0a2f6a16-2f81-45a4-9d6d-76530bc60779https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=eb19685e-e662-4fb2-a720-e810432d85d3
Centre's annual retreat took place in Hohenwarte 10-13 December to summarize the scientific success of 2018 and discuss future directions. ]]>Fri, 14 Dec 2018 13:13:39 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=eb19685e-e662-4fb2-a720-e810432d85d3https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=c9ef72b8-bfd8-4dfd-922e-6bdbebefc8ce
When we look at nutrient poor (oligotrophic) and nutrient rich (eutrophic) ecosystem, we generally observe different species. We can therefore conclude that these ecosystems are fundamentally different. However, how do the main functional traits of those species vary between the oligotrophic and eutrophic ecosystems? ]]>Thu, 22 Nov 2018 09:55:18 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=c9ef72b8-bfd8-4dfd-922e-6bdbebefc8cehttps://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=b9865fc8-d889-4835-aa09-80c07f739553
Copepods avoid eating most toxic dinoflagellates and thus the toxin efficiently protects the algae against grazing]]>Fri, 24 Aug 2018 09:54:48 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=b9865fc8-d889-4835-aa09-80c07f739553https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=21550b41-2d7e-4d9b-80eb-1aee624f5475
Is toxin production in phytoplankton costly? How do environmental conditions affect the cost of toxin production?]]>Wed, 15 Aug 2018 13:39:00 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=21550b41-2d7e-4d9b-80eb-1aee624f5475https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=f60b0c50-eabc-4468-b045-556d675633ff
Marine ecosystems are overwhelmingly complex. The trait-based method offers a simple way to describe, model, and understand complex marine systems. In a new paper we describe the approach taken by the Centre for Ocean life and illustrate it with examples from our recent work.]]>Mon, 13 Aug 2018 14:14:53 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=f60b0c50-eabc-4468-b045-556d675633ffhttps://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=e4cae31d-a5ea-4e35-9341-11e08a81bc0d
What zooplankton foraging strategy is more efficient in terms of volume of water cleared? What mechanism determines clearance efficiency of zooplankton foraging strategies? Why may different zooplankton foraging strategies coexist in plankton food webs? ]]>Mon, 06 Aug 2018 14:46:29 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=e4cae31d-a5ea-4e35-9341-11e08a81bc0dhttps://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=809738c3-fd0c-48ff-8614-48c1364aa198
After oil spills and dispersant applications, the formation of red tides or harmful algal blooms (HABs) has been observed, but the link between both phenomena was unknown until now. ]]>Tue, 01 May 2018 21:37:12 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=809738c3-fd0c-48ff-8614-48c1364aa198https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=397341c4-0c3d-426d-9473-0998efe367ec
A new Ocean Life paper demonstrates a global mismatch in the protection of multiple marine biodiversity components and ecosystem services.]]>Wed, 21 Mar 2018 13:32:08 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=397341c4-0c3d-426d-9473-0998efe367echttps://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=b2d38ca9-df5f-4c7d-b4c2-320cd3c16890
Some copepods, mm-sized zooplankton, that live in the very surface layer of the ocean jump out of the water and perform spectacular flights when escaping from predators. This yields them a great advantage, because their escape distance increases many fold. But how can they do it?]]>Wed, 24 Jan 2018 15:14:56 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=b2d38ca9-df5f-4c7d-b4c2-320cd3c16890https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=6bcf648d-3ebd-4a39-ab22-45df8974cf72
New review experimentally exploring plankton defense mechanism]]>Wed, 24 Jan 2018 15:14:56 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=6bcf648d-3ebd-4a39-ab22-45df8974cf72https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=416da371-f42f-4a9c-ba20-bd9ec0ba3fda
Density dependence is the major driving force behind population regulation. Here we looked at density-dependent growth in real-life fish stocks, and how this relates to the size at which we can best start catching them. ]]>Mon, 22 Jan 2018 09:48:14 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=416da371-f42f-4a9c-ba20-bd9ec0ba3fdahttps://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=1a1b100e-35c7-40c9-a8e8-19c77f9e196e
Many species of phytoplankton produce substances that are toxic to both human consumers and planktonic grazers, and toxin production is often considered a defense mechanism. But can grazers de-select the toxic prey cells? And can they acclimate to the toxins? ]]>Wed, 17 Jan 2018 11:02:18 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=1a1b100e-35c7-40c9-a8e8-19c77f9e196ehttps://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=48cfccb4-4b1a-4da4-9dbc-f6a697a2ae15
Centre for Ocean Life offers 3-year PhD fellowships in experimental plankton ecology and trait-based modelling within the general topic of trait-based Marine Ecology. The fellows will be employed at DTU Aqua (The National Institute for Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark).]]>Mon, 08 Jan 2018 10:10:19 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=48cfccb4-4b1a-4da4-9dbc-f6a697a2ae15https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=98acd12c-8a54-4821-984b-d2fc8f87d376
Biodiversity is a multifaceted concept, yet most biodiversity studies have taken a taxonomic approach, implying that all species are equally important. However, species do not contribute equally to ecosystem processes and differ markedly in their responses to changing environments. This recognition has led to the exploration of other components of biodiversity, notably the diversity of ecologically important traits.]]>Fri, 05 Jan 2018 10:01:10 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=98acd12c-8a54-4821-984b-d2fc8f87d376https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=94af11b4-3213-4459-99f7-601235f921ed
Centre's annual retreat took place 13-14/12 in Faxe to summarize the scientific success of 2017. ]]>Thu, 21 Dec 2017 10:25:52 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=94af11b4-3213-4459-99f7-601235f921edhttps://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=f249660c-e565-47c8-9bd4-8da5db9e515e
To understand the effects of climate change on changing ocean biomass, understanding how different species interact is a difficult but necessary task.]]>Mon, 04 Dec 2017 15:00:00 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=f249660c-e565-47c8-9bd4-8da5db9e515ehttps://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=495be3c5-7cf0-47d3-993f-42aadd9cde93
Why do we find primarily large pelagic predators such as tunas and billfish in the tropics, while in boreal and temperate regions large demersal species of gadoids and flatfish dominate?]]>Tue, 28 Nov 2017 14:22:50 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=495be3c5-7cf0-47d3-993f-42aadd9cde93https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=ecd5e2c5-0ecf-4ecc-9245-2e0ab5eb18ed
Life-history traits of comb jellies (Mnemiopsis) invaded to European waters start reproducing at a body mass 100 times less than in mother populations. This is consistent with predictions from a simple fitness optimization model]]>Fri, 17 Nov 2017 13:06:46 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=ecd5e2c5-0ecf-4ecc-9245-2e0ab5eb18edhttps://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=044ca6d8-4aa6-43f7-82d5-a45a0613b5ea
What are the spatial patterns of fish life history strategies in the European Seas and what are their main drivers?]]>Wed, 05 Apr 2017 13:32:50 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=044ca6d8-4aa6-43f7-82d5-a45a0613b5eahttps://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=4699a8cb-1cc2-4b75-8418-0ffcd783b5b2
We have developed a trait-based model to describe how the size of organisms and the environmental conditions interact to determine trophic strategies of unicellular plankton. ]]>Thu, 23 Mar 2017 14:42:32 +0200https://www.mecano-plankton.dk/news/nyhed?id=4699a8cb-1cc2-4b75-8418-0ffcd783b5b2