Creativity and Marine Conservation: Alexandra Hahn

Alexandra Hahn grew up in a small village between Frankfurt and Würzburg. After leaving school, she spent a year on the island of Sylt as part of a voluntary service programme. “It was a wonderful time,” she recalls. Her duties included leading tours, organising information events, and monitoring protected areas. Laughing, she adds, “we were basically paid to take a walk on the beach and make sure that it looked healthy”. She went on to do a bachelor’s degree in biosciences in Rostock before moving to Kiel four and a half years ago to do her Master’s. She is currently a PhD student in the Marine Evolutionary Ecology research group led by Prof. Dr Thorsten Reusch. 

Beyond her scientific work, Alexandra has a creative streak. She plays the French horn in an orchestra and enjoys drawing. This talent even supports her research – she creates illustrations of copepods, the tiny crustaceans she studies, for which there are no high-quality visual representations. Her drawings not only look impressive but also leave a lasting impression on her audience during presentations. 

What is the focus of your research, and how do you approach it? 

Alex: I study copepods in the Baltic Sea. These are tiny crustaceans, and I am studying how they adapt to different environmental conditions, such as different salinities. I’ve taken part in several expeditions aboard ALKOR and a Finnish research vessel to collect copepods. My aim is to cover as much of the Baltic Sea as possible to include the whole salinity gradient up to the coast of Finland. I then keep the copepods in culture rooms for my experiments.

Next, I extract DNA and RNA in the molecular lab. I work with transcriptomics, which involves analysing all RNA molecules expressed at a given time. RNA is essentially the transcription of DNA, and by studying it, I can identify which genes are activated under specific stress conditions – in my case, low salinity. In the final phase of my PhD, I will also examine how the genomes of copepod populations differ across various locations.

What motivates you? 

Alex: I want to understand how copepods adapt to extreme environmental conditions, as the Baltic Sea is a challenging habitat for a marine species due to its low salinity, which decreases further east. I also want to investigate how climate change might affect them. Some projections predict that the salinity of the Baltic Sea will continue to decrease, and I want to understand if this will impact these little copepods. This question is crucial because copepods form a significant part of the Baltic Sea’s zooplankton and are therefore a fundamental link in the food chain.

How did you come to focus on copepods as your research subject? 

Alex: I’ve always been interested in environmental changes and climate change and how it affects organisms. However, copepods weren’t my initial focus. My interest began when I got a job as a student assistant at GEOMAR, where I sorted copepods by species. I analysed long-term zooplankton samples from the Kiel Fjord – samples were collected every two weeks, and I identified species and tracked their abundance. This made me something of a ‘copepod person’. Then, a junior professor, Reid Brennan, who was also working on copepods, joined the institute, and someone suggested I ask him about a Master’s project – so I did!

For the past two years, you’ve been a Young Ambassador for the European Marine Board (EMB). What motivated you to take on this role? 

Alex: I applied because I’m interested in the interface between science and policy. Every year, the EMB selects two early-career researchers (ECRs) from its member organisations to act as Young Ambassadors and strengthen the links between ECRs and the EMB. When I saw the GEOMAR call for applications, I applied on a whim – and I was selected.

What were your tasks as a Young Ambassador? 

Alex: One of our main tasks was to set up a network for ECRs within the EMB, called the EMB ECOP Network. We regularly shared updates on EMB activities, launched a social media series to highlight researchers in our network, and organised monthly webinars on science policy. A particular highlight was organising a workshop on the science-policy interface – a huge task involving travel logistics, planning talks, and preparing content. This culminated in a conference where we presented the results in a keynote speech to 250 participants.

What have you taken away from your time with the EMB? 

Alex: I learned that there are many ways to get involved, but that time and support are often the biggest challenges. For ECRs, it’s not always easy to balance research with activities like science communication or policy work. One solution could be to incorporate these activities into research funding proposals, so that they’re part of the scientific career from the start. Overall, it was a fantastic experience that I would do again in a heartbeat. The EMB secretariat was incredibly supportive, and I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in science policy.

In February, we celebrated the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. What do you think about having a specific day for women and girls in science? 

Alex: Ideally, it wouldn’t be necessary because gender shouldn’t play a role in a career. But since it does, it’s important to raise awareness of these inequalities.

What advice would you give to young girls who want to become scientists? 

Alex: Don’t be discouraged and seek out women in science who inspire you. Many female researchers are happy to help – so don’t hesitate to ask!

About: European Marine Board (EMB) 

The European Marine Board (EMB) is a think tank with 38 member organisations from 19 European countries. GEOMAR is part of this network, which aims to make scientific knowledge accessible to policy makers, e.g. through policy briefs and reports on current marine science issues.