Research interests
I am an experimental ecologist interested in benthic ecology. With designing close-to-natural mesocosm experiments I try to understand how benthic ecosystems of the Baltic Sea are impacted by climate change and which role environmental fluctuations, particularly extreme events such as marine heatwaves or hypoxic upwelling events, play. Therefore, I e.g., analyse long-term temperature data to find out how often marine heatwaves occur or how long and intense these are (see graphic). I then use the results of such analyses to create proper experimental treatments (see e.g., Wolf et al. 2022). You can find the ambient temperature of the Kiel Fjord with the thresholds for heatwaves here: https://solarisheppa.geomar.de/heatwave.html.
Academical and professional Career
September 2022 - today
Researcher at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre für Ocean Research Kiel
June - July 2022
Researcher at Åbo Akademi
Setup and conduct of a mesocosm experiment to investigate the impact of heatwaves on the seagrass community of Zostera marina in the finnish Archepelago.
November 2018 - May 2022
Doctorate
Kiel University and GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Title: Extreme events and warming in the Baltic Sea: relevance for coastal benthic communities
macau.uni-kiel.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/macau_derivate_00003910/Fabian_Wolf.pdf
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Martin Wahl and Associate Prof. Dr. Christian Pansch
This project was funded by Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt.
Since December 2020
Diving with Nitrox in Scientific Diving after training at the Forschungstauchzenrum of the Institute for Geoscience at the Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel
Since August 2020
Examined European Scientific Diver after training at the Forschungstauchzentrum of the Institute for Geoscience at the Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel
May 2018 - October 2018
Researcher at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Investigating the impact of natural heatwaves and upwelling events in the Kiel Fjord on the predator-prey system Carcinus maenas or Asterias rubens preying on Mytilus edulis.
September 2015 - June 2018
Master of Science - Biological Oceanography
Kiel University
Title: The neglected role of environmental fluctuations in climate change research: How temperature variability influences the interaction of macrophytes and their grazers.
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Martin Wahl and Dr. Christian Pansch
October 2012 - September 2015
Bachelor of Science - Biology
Philipps-Universität Marburg
Title: Predation pressure on insects (Lepidoptera) along an urbanization gradient in Frankfurt on the Main.
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Roland Brandl and Dr. Lars Openoorth
Additional Practical Experience
September 2019
10-day cruise on the research vessel ALKOR in the Baltic Sea
Taking benthic and planktonic samples using van Veen grabs, dredges, Bongo nets, and Multi-nets.
March - April 2018
33-day cruise on the research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN to the Mediterranean Sea
Measuring the transient tracer CFC-12 and SF6.
Teaching
January – February 2023:
Co-Organization and realization of the module MNF-bioc-110 of the master program Biological Oceanography at Kiel University. The aim was the training of students in experiment design, running an experiment using the Kiel Indoor Benthocosms, analysing the data, and writing a manuscript.
June – July 2021
Co-Organization and realization of the module MNF-bioc232 of the master program Biological Oceanography (Kiel University). The aim was the theory and practical implementation of the graphical display of abiotic as well as experimental long-time data based on previous analysis of Generalized Additive Mixed-effects Models (GAMMs).
September 2019
Co-Organization of a 10-days cruise (AL528) with the research vessel ALKOR to the Baltic Sea. The aim was the training of students of the master program Biological Oceanography (Kiel University) in planktonic and benthic sampling at sea.
Each Autumn (since 2017)
Supervision of students of the master program Biological Oceanography (Kiel University) and of the Master thesis program GAME on each one-day cruise with the research vessel ALKOR.
Supervision
Since 2017: Supervision and co-supvervision of three interns and four bachelor students.
Public Relations Work
February 2023: Interview with “Sierra Club” about the interplay of marine heatwaves and hypoxic upwelling events
(https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/sea-stars-threatened-intensifying-marine-heat-waves)
January 2023: Interview with “New scientist” about the interplay of marine heatwaves and hypoxic upwelling events
(https://www.newscientist.com/article/2355243-marine-heat-waves-could-wipe-out-all-common-sea-stars-by-2100/)
July 2021: Interview with “Bild der Frau” about the topic of marine heatwaves (issue of 23.07.2021).
June 2021: Interview with the ZDF for the “heute-journal” about the topic of marine heatwaves.
October 2019: Interview partner for junior reporters of the SHZ (https://www.shz.de/regionales/kina/kina-reporter/die-gefahr-im-schoenen-blau-id26074482.html)
International Conferences
2023: Talk at the Swedish Oikos Conference 2023 in Gothenburg: Microclimatic differences drive heat selection in eelgrass
2021: Poster at the SEB (Society of Experimental Biology) 2021 Annual Conference: The role of recovery phases in mitigating the negative impacts of marine heatwaves on the starfish Asterias rubens.
2020: Talk at the Festival of Ecology of the British Ecological Society: Impacts of consecutive heatwave and upwelling events on a marine keystone predator.
2018: Poster at the Deoxygenation Conference in Kiel: Heat waves and hypoxic upwelling events: relevance for coastal benthic communities and the possibilities for mitigation.
Publications
*shared first authorship
Rühmkorff, Sarah*; Wolf, Fabian*; Vajedsamiei, Jahangir; Barboza, Francisco Rafael; Hiebenthal, Claas; Pansch, Christian (2023): Marine heatwaves and upwelling shape stress responses in a keystone predator. In Proc. R. Soc. B, DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.2262
Wolf, Fabian; Seebass, Katja; Pansch, Christian (2022): The Role of Recovery Phases in Mitigating the Negative Impacts of Marine Heatwaves on the Sea Star Asterias rubens. In Front. Mar. Sci. 8, p. 1029. DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2021.790241.
Wahl, Martin; Barboza, Francisco R.; Buchholz, Björn; Dobretsov, Sergey; Guy‐Haim, Tamar; Rilov, Gil; Schuett, Renate; Wolf, Fabian; Vajedsamiei, Jahangir; Yazdanpanah, Maryam; Pansch, Christian (2021): Pulsed pressure. Fluctuating impacts of multifactorial environmental change on a temperate macroalgal community. In Limnol. Oceanogr. 33, p. 477. DOI: 10.1002/lno.11954.
Melzner, Frank; Buchholz, Björn; Wolf, Fabian; Panknin, Ulrike; Wall, Marlene (2020): Ocean winter warming induced starvation of predator and prey. In Proc. R. Soc. 287 (1931), S. 20200970. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0970.
Morón Lugo, Sonia C.; Baumeister, Moritz; Nour, Ola Mohamed; Wolf, Fabian; Stumpp, Meike; Pansch, Christian (2020): Warming and temperature variability determine the performance of two invertebrate predators. In Scientific reports 10 (1), S. 6780. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-63679-0.
Rapp, Insa; Schlosser, Christian; Browning, Thomas J.; Wolf, Fabian; Le Moigne, Frédéric A. C.; Gledhill, Martha; Achterberg, Eric P. (2020): El Niño-Driven Oxygenation Impacts Peruvian Shelf Iron Supply to the South Pacific Ocean. In Geophysical Research Letters, Band 47, 7, DOI: 10.1029/2019GL086631.
