Prof. Dr. Rainer Kiko

Heisenberg Professor and 'Make our Planet Great Again' Laureat

Working group and project groups

Working group 'Plankton Biogeochemistry and Imaging'

Project group 'Plankton Biogeochemistry and Dynamics'

Projekt group 'Biogeochemical Processes'
 

Teaching

Winter term (1st and 3rd semester Biological Oceanography Masters)

Current Topics in Marine Biogeochemistry 2 (together w. Prof. Kai Schulz) - Lecture series w. contributions from invited guests & Seminar w. student presentations and literature discussions (4SWS)

ScientificComputing (Python and beyond - introduction) - as part of BIOC101 at the beginning of the first semester (1 SWS)

Plankton Practical - as part of BIOC101  (1 SWS)

Summer term (2nd and 4th semester Biological Oceanography Masters)

Current Topics in Marine Biogeochemistry 1 (together w. Prof. Arne Körtzinger, Prof. Mirjam Perner, Prof. Kai Schulz) - Lecture series & Seminar (4 SWS)

ScientificComputing (Python and beyond - advanced) - Follow up course during the spring semester break (2 SWS)

BIOC301 - Master thesis proposal and thesis proposal defense. (1SWS)

BIOC201 - Two ind. lectures on Zooplankton and the biological pump, as well as Zooplankton and mesoscale dynamics as part of BIOC201

Research topics

Global change impacts the distribution and activity of marine life at local to basin-wide scales, with major consequences for oceanic oxygen dynamics, nutrient cycles and the transfer of carbon dioxid from the atmosphere to the deep sea. I use augmented image observations that integrate autonomous camera and environmental sensor systems with state-of-the-art artificial intelligence solutions and ecophysiological approaches to yield a novel image of zooplankton and detrital particle (Z&P) dynamics in a changing ocean. Zooplankton organisms play an essential role in these processes as they feed on all kinds of particulate matter, respire oxygen and release faecal matter. Detrital particles (e.g. faeces and decaying phytoplankton aggregates) passively sink through the water column and represent a major export vector of carbon from the sunlit surface ocean to the deep sea. Most of this so-called „marine snowfall” is consumed by microbes and specialised zooplankton, resulting in the attenuation of passive flux with depth. Diel vertical migrations of zooplankton and nekton from the epipelagic at 0 – 200 m depth to the mesopelagic at 200 – 1000 m depth induce an active net downward transport of carbon as zooplankton feed at the surface at nighttime and migrate to depth at daytime, where they continue to respire, excrete and generate faecal pellets. These processes take place in a very dynamic and changing physical environment, requiring the mentioned augmented observation tools to observe them. Building the capacities of the next generation of students to apply these tools for improved monitoring, protection and management of marine resources is another aspect of my work.

 

Publications submitted or in review

10) Stemmann L, Nocera AC, Arlaud M, Habib J, Baudena A, Accardo A, Irisson JO, Lacour L, Boyd PW, Kiko R (reviews received, Nature Communications) The role of morphology in setting the fate of marine snow in the open ocean.

9) Fonseca V,  Pade N,  Artigas LF,  Buttigieg PL,  Deneudt K,  Eikrem W,  Guidi L, Hauss H, Kiko R, Kraft K, Moller KO, Neves S, Santi I, Sildever S, Uitz J (reviews received, Bulletin of Geophysics and Oceanography) Recommendations for the operational integration of molecular and imaging technologies in marine observations.

8) Zhang W, Chen X-G, Wen Z, Kiko R, Browning TJ, Achterberg EP (submitted, Global Biogeochemical Cycles) Enhanced carbon export in the subtropical South Pacific.

7) Habib J, Stemmann L, Subramaniam A, Baudena A, Fernández-Carrera A, Santana CS de, Tuchen FP, Brandt P, Bam W, Kiko R (reviews received, Nature Communications) Lateral inputs sustains subsurface particle export during low productivity in Equatorial Atlantic, preprint.

6) Clements D, Bianchi D, Weber T, Kiko R, Stemmann L (reviews received, Nature Geoscience) Particle production by mesopelagic fauna enhances deep-ocean carbon sequestration, preprint.

5) Sugier K, Laso-Jadart R, Dorval L, Meng A, Kiko R, Blanco-Bercial L, Maas AE, Cornils A, Maps F, Ayata S-D, Madoui M-A (resubmitted, Nature Communications) Hypoxia adaptation shapes genomic architecture and vertical niche transitions in copepods, preprint.

4) Nocera AC, Stemmann L, Babin M, Biard T, Coustenoble J, Carlotti F, Coppola L, Courchet L, Drago L, Elineau A, Guidi L, Hauss H, Jalabert L, Karp-Boss L, Kiko R, Laget M, Lombard F, McDonnell A, Merland C, Motreuil S, Panaïotis T, Picheral M, Rogge A, Waite A, Irisson J-O (in public review) A global consistent database of plankton and detritus from in situ imaging by the Underwater Vision Profiler 5. Earth System Science Data Discussions:1–37.

3) Li S, Marchant H, Ahmerkamp S, Karthäuser C, von Arx J, Graf J, Speth D, Diaz K, Graco M, Iversen M, Kiko R, Kitzinger K, Lavik G, Ledesma J, Milucka J, Schorn S, Kuypers MM (resubmitted, Science Advances) Microbial colonization of sinking aggregates in coastal oxygen minimum zone waters and its impact on denitrification.

2) Anna Denvil-Sommer, Corinne Le Quéré, Rainer Kiko, Fabien Lombard, Marie-Fanny Racault, Lionel Guidi (reviews received, Global Biogeochemical Cycles) Emergent Particulate Organic Carbon size classes and their environmental and ecosystem drivers.

1) Flintrop CM, Ahmerkamp S, Moradi N, Klawonn I, März J, Hörstmann C, Kiko R, Khalili A, Grossart H-P, Álvarez-Salgado XA, Aristegui J, Iversen MH (preprint) Rethinking sinking: Imaging the flow fields of natural marine aggregates to derive sinking velocity. In preparation for re-submission.