Clarissa Böhme's contribution to the Aqua2024 conference

Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences student presents research results of her bachelor's thesis at specialist conference

Clarissa Böhme is studying Biotechnology of Marine Resources at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences. Her professor Prof Dr Laurie Hofmann suggested the student for a presentation at Aqua2024. ‘I'm already in the aquaculture group at the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) and my data was ready, so I was eligible for the lecture,’ says Clarissa Böhme. As part of her bachelor's thesis, she analysed the growth rate of an edible algae species on miniature shellfish towers at different salinities and levels of the shellfish tower. The result was that the algae species called Ulva compressa produces more biomass at low salinity levels, such as in the Baltic Sea. ‘The adaptability of Ulva compressa to lower salt concentrations makes it particularly suitable for controlled rearing at the Shellfish Tower in the Baltic Sea. High salinities like the North Sea offer less optimal conditions for their growth, but other species of Ulva compressa could be cultivated in the North Sea. And there was no morphological change in Ulva compressa at different salinities, i.e. this algae species grew tubular at the Shellfish Tower and did not change its shape,’ explains Clarissa Böhme.‘Ms Böhme's results of a feasibility study show for the first time that a structure developed for offshore aquaculture can be used for algae cultivation on a laboratory scale,’ explains her professor Prof Dr Laurie Hofmann.

The project was developed in co-operation with the AWI. The trip to Copenhagen is supported by the Friends of Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences. ‘I'm quite nervous and excited. On the other hand, I'm also excited to see what's in store for me. I'm already looking forward to the many projects and people I'll get to know at the trade fair,’ says the Bremerhaven student. She is preparing for Aqua2024 at the end of August by giving presentations to her colleagues at the Alfred Wegener Institute and working on the presentation with her professor, Prof Dr Laurie Hofmann.

(Text: Jurina Kleemeyer and Isabelle Epplé)