CEMarin: Biodiversity and environmental change in Colombian Coral reefs
The DAAD funded Center of Excellence in Marine Sciences (CEMarin) is a Colombian-German consortium headed by two members of our group, Bernd Werding (German Director) and Thomas Wilke (Program Director). The mission of the CEMarin aims at providing primarily Ph.D. level education in marine sciences, promoting marine sciences in northern South America, and conducting cutting-edge research under the main topic "Coastal Colombian resources and environmental changes".
The main scientific goals of the CEMarin-related research conducted by the Systematic Zoology and Biodiversity group are to:
- unravel the consequences of environmental changes on coral reef biodiversity in space and time,
- study the interactions of abiotic factors on the population dynamics of selected coral and fish species, and
- unravel patterns and processes of biological invasions in the southern Caribbean.
In addition, the group in Giessen is interested in maintaining genetic resources of critically endangered invertebrates by raising genetically distinct strains of selected coral species together with associated protists and algae in aquaculture. These populations will enable a future re-colonization of damaged or destroyed coral reefs in Colombia. Further information can be found at: http://www.cemarin.org/