Research

Harmful algal blooms (HABs), i.e. mass occurrences of microalgae producing toxins or causing other environmental damage, threaten ecosystem function and services. While HAB events are primarily known from temperate and warm coastal regions, HAB-forming species have been increasingly recorded in the Arctic Ocean in recent years. Global change has already led to warming of the Arctic, favouring the expansion of harmful species into these areas. This project is designed to improve our understanding and prediction of indicators, tipping points and impacts of HAB species in the Arctic. 

We aim to achieve this by: a) characterizing current microalgal communities, with a focus on potentially harmful species; b) performing experiments to understand the ecological and evolutionary dynamics between harmful vs. non-harmful taxa under shifting environmental conditions; c) creating a dynamical ecosystem model to identify the critical environmental conditions and feedback loops leading to increased dominance of harmful microalgae (tipping); and d) communicating these findings and potential future risks to Greenland fisheries and local stakeholders.