The UN High Seas Treaty came into force in January, raising questions over where protected areas should be established by 2030. Researchers from the universities of Oldenburg and Bremen are investigating this in the AGELESS project.

One university, two marine research institutions, one shared goal: a healthy ocean. An interview with Katharina Pahnke, Director of the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, ICBM, and Helmut Hillebrand, Director of the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity,…

Geoscientist Sinikka Lennartz has been awarded the Lower Saxony Science Prize for Early Career Researchers. She translates microscopic processes in the oceans into mathematical equations – and incorporates them into global Earth System Models.

A new review highlights how hydrothermal vents on the seafloor shape iron availability and influence the global oceanic element cycles. Researchers from Bremen and Oldenburg are involved. 

A new paper published in Science by a team including ecologist Iliana Baums urges regulatory reform to accelerate coral restoration using assisted gene flow – an essential step to safeguard the economic and ecologic services that reefs provide. 

Microbial ecosystems have tipping points where even small perturbations are enough to cause a collapse, according to a new study. Tom Clegg and Thilo Gross describe microbial communities as a network based on the exchange of metabolic by-products. 

What is the role of hydrothermal vents in the cycle of dissolved organic matter in the ocean? Researchers from the Universities of Bremen and Oldenburg have analysed samples from the Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California.

For the first time, the most prestigious award for early-career researchers goes to an Oldenburg scientist: geoscientist Sinikka Lennartz receives the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize for her computational modelling of organic carbon in the oceans.

A new piece of large equipment was recently put into operation at the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment – offering unique possibilities for climate research.

Researchers from Oldenburg and Bremen work together on issues important for the future. To further analyse the effects of global warming on marine ecosystems, the have jointly applied in the Excellence Strategy of the federal and state governments. 

Millions of different organic compounds are dissolved in the world's oceans. These substances bind large amounts of carbon – sometimes for thousands of years. Does this affect the carbon cycle on Earth – and our climate? A multimedia story. 

Only 359 genes and the amino acid arginine as its sole energy source: The metabolism of the bacterial family Oceanoplasmataceae, newly discovered in the Gulf of Mexico, is a mystery to the German-American research team that identified it. 

Computer scientist A. Murat Eren, who goes by Meren, is convinced that microbiology can contribute to solving many global challenges. In this interview, he talks about the astonishing progress the discipline has made in recent decades.

Climate change also affects the oceans. But how can the marine life affected by it be protected beyond the scope of national jurisdiction? A new consortium of researchers including scientists from Oldenburg is investigating this.

The oceans are home to much of the planet's biodiversity. They have a major influence on our climate and provide food for billions of people. To mark World Oceans Day, researchers from Oldenburg and Bremen report on why their research is important.

Thousand-year-old sediments from the Atlantic Ocean show how biodiversity in the oceans could develop with climate change. A team from Bremen and Oldenburg is conducting joint research - also to better assess how to protect marine life in the future.

In the animal kingdom, too, there are different personalities, each with their own lifestyle: even simple marine worms live their daily lives to their own individual rhythms, a new study suggests.

A group of bacteria lives in close association with other organisms throughout the world's oceans. Microbiologist Meinhard Simon and his team at the recently completed Collaborative Research Centre Roseobacter have spent 13 years investigating what makes these microbes so successful.

Glaciers, penguins and whales: Antarctica has a special appeal - also for PhD student Lina Holthusen, who is currently conducting research there. About the challenges of working in remote places, the team spirit needed and the best Christmas present.

How does unusual heat affect the flora and fauna of the Wadden Sea? Researchers from the Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment and the Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences have recently investigated this in a large-scale experiment.

Every litre of seawater is full of genetic material from different organisms. Biologist Silke Laakmann and her team are pioneering techniques that use these DNA traces to determine the biodiversity of marine communities.

There would be no oxygen on Earth were it not for sunlight; the key component in photosynthesis. Now researchers have made the surprising discovery that oxygen is also produced without sunlight, possibly deep below the ocean surface.

The research group DynaCom is investigating how stable ecosystems are in the face of natural and anthropogenic environmental changes. The German Research Foundation is now funding the project for another three years.

Coastal ecosystems naturally store carbon. But how can this potential be improved? A new joint project has recently started investigating this question.

Marine biodiversity is threatened by climate change, pollution and overfishing. Biodiversity expert Helmut Hillebrand explains in this interview how research can help to improve marine conservation.

The university is set to acquire a unique research facility, as recommended by the German Council of Science and Humanities. The 'NaviGate' building has been designed for the study of animal navigation in realistic conditions. 

A milestone for neuroscience: researchers from Oldenburg and London have created the first-ever 3D atlas of a migratory bird’s brain. 

Antarctic krill cover vast distances during their migrations in the Southern Ocean. Researchers from the NaviSense Cluster of Excellence are setting up camp in Antarctica to investigate how these crustaceans navigate on their long journeys.

Light pollution poses a growing threat to moths. In her Lightstar project, which has been awarded a prestigious EU Starting Grant worth 1.5 million euros, zoologist Jacqueline Degen will investigate the underlying mechanisms.

An international research team including neuroscientists Henrik Mouritsen and Karin Dedek has made a surprising discovery: Bird retinas – among the most energy-demanding tissues in the animal kingdom – operate permanently without oxygen.

On a remote island in the Indian Ocean, an international team has observed the activity of compass neurons in the wild for the first time. Their study involved researchers from Oldenburg and has now been published in the journal Science.

Australian bogong moths are famous for their long-distance migrations. An international team including Oldenburg researchers has discovered that the insects use the stars as a compass during their annual journey to cool inland caves.

In order to calibrate tiny radio transmitters, researchers from the Migration Ecology working group took to the skies. Their unique experiment was designed to enable more accurate tracking of migratory bird routes.

The rapid movements of electrons in solids or molecules can be analysed much more easily than before thanks to a development by researchers in Oldenburg. The team presents the new method in the journal Optica.

The first international symposium of the Collaborative Research Centre "Magnetoreception and Navigation in Vertebrates" attracted many international guests. The programme ranged from how moths navigate to exotic quantum materials and robots that fly like birds.

Henrik Mouritsen was on the US podcast Radiolab, chatting with host Annie McEwen about the idea that birds use a quantum compass to navigate and how they might visualize the magnetic field. 

Desert ants rely on a special component of the Earth's magnetic field to navigate. Their magnetic sense may be based on magnetic particles, according to a new study that has now been published in the journal Current Biology.

Many animals can perceive the Earth’s magnetic field, but corresponding sensory cells haven’t been located yet. Using sophisticated experiments and technology, several research groups are hot on the trail of this mysterious sense.

Migratory species are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, habitat loss and environmental pollution. Several research groups are joining forces to gain new insights into the behaviour of migratory birds.

In this interview, biologists Henrik Mouritsen and Miriam Liedvogel explain the importance of animal navigation and orientation for nature conservation – as well as for quantum technologies and autonomous vehicles.

The university recently acquired a particularly powerful electron microscope, which is also available to external users. It is capable of imaging structures as small as 0.5 billionths of a meter.

The magnetic sense of migratory birds is probably based on a special protein – this theory is supported by a new genetic study. A research team from the University of Oldenburg and the Institute of Avian Research found that the protein has been optimised through rapid selection.

Biologist Pauline Fleischmann researches desert ants and astonishing navigational abilities – both in the laboratory and in their natural environment. The insects are surprisingly good at orientating themselves in monotonous terrain.

Pipistrelle bats have a magnetic compass and calibrate it at sunset, according to a new study published in the journal Biology Letters. The research shows that these animals, like birds, are sensitive to magnetic inclination.

Many songbirds use the earth's magnetic field as a guide during their migrations, but radiowaves interfere with this ability. A new study has found an upper bound for the frequencies that disrupt the magnetic compass.

The Collaborative Research Center "Magnetoreception and Navigation in Vertebrates” is going into its second phase: The German Research Foundation has granted the project funding for another four years.

Many animals use the Earth's magnetic field for orientation. But exactly how they do this remains for the most part a mystery. In the Collaborative Research Centre "Magnetoreception and Navigation in Vertebrates", researchers are solving the puzzle.

Fish migrations generally take place hidden from view. Researchers from the Magnetoreception Collaborative Research Centre at the University of Oldenburg are investigating how herring, sticklebacks and coral fish find their way in the sea.

New findings on magnetic sensing in birds are presented by an international team of researchers led by Oldenburg biologist Henrik Mouritsen. The results are published in the journal Nature.