Immerse yourself in the underwater world - from the local North Sea to tropical coral reefs: three Oldenburg marine biologists make this possible with their colourful exhibition "Discover the colourful diversity of the oceans".
Showing the diversity of the oceans and arousing fascination for the often endangered habitats there - that is what drives the three marine biologists Dr Anna Roik, Dr Julia Strahl and Dr Stephanie Helber. They normally conduct research at the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) and the Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) at the University of Oldenburg. With their exhibition "Discover the colourful diversity of the oceans", they are now also acting as curators for the first time.
"Many people are unaware of the biodiversity of our native North Sea, for example, and what the organisms living there actually do for us," says Helber. Reason enough to develop and realise an exhibition about this together with her two colleagues and more than 25 other researchers. They will be presenting the exhibits in the Smart House from tomorrow until 24 May.
The exhibition also looks at threats to marine life and their natural refuges and breeding grounds. They are primarily a consequence of climate change, says Anna Roik: "Climate change is leading to such rapid changes in living conditions that the individual organisms have little opportunity to adapt." There are also other threats such as mass tourism, marine pollution and overfishing. The exhibition draws attention to these risks and shows how marine scientists are investigating them. Short portraits also present concrete research and field work by researchers who are investigating the effects of environmental changes on the biodiversity of our oceans worldwide.
The exhibition is sponsored by the Universitätsgesellschaft Oldenburg (UGO) and the Barthel Foundation. Following the premiere at The Smart House Oldenburg, the show can be booked free of charge as a travelling exhibition.
