Tjärnö marina laboratorium, Göteborgs universitet

21/08/2026

Hurra för Luisa Kumpitsch! Idag spikade hon sin avhandling "From form to function – S***m evolution in marine organisms” och många års arbete och undersökningar och studier och undersökningar och ännu fler studier och undersökningar är äntligen till ända. Disputation blir den 11 september kl 13 i Tjärnös hörsal. Save the date!

05/08/2026

🌊 Under fyra sommarveckor råder full aktivitet på Tjärnö, när det internationella masterprogrammet IMBRSea har sin sommarskola på Tjärnö marina laboratorium. 🎓🌍

Det här är den första gruppen av totalt 70 studenter, på väg tillbaka efter ett besök på Naturum i Kosterhavets nationalpark häromveckan. Och lite sälspaning ...🦭

Under sina veckor på Tjärnö genomför studenterna olika forskningsprojekt och passar också på att njuta av den bohuslänska naturen. ☀️🔬

Programmet har haft sin sommarskola på Tjärnö i flera år. Anledningen är de unika faciliteter som finns här, med laboratorier, utrustning och närhet till fältarbete i havet samt mat och boende – allt inom armlängds avstånd. 🔬🌊

Vi är såklart glada och tacksamma över att ni väljer att komma hit och ni är varmt välkomna tillbaka! 💙

Läs mer om IMBRSea och varför de återvänder till Tjärnö, sommar efter sommar. Länk i kommentarerna. 👇

04/08/2026

🌊 Missa inte Västerhavsveckan på Tjärnö marina laboratorium (3–7 augusti)!

Den här veckan bjuder vi på öppet hus på Tjärnö akvarium och många andra aktiviteter för både stora och små.

🤿 På fredag finns fortfarande chansen att följa med vårt forskningsfartyg Nereus och se djupt ner i Kosterhavet med vår ROV (fjärrstyrda undervattensfarkost). Turen behöver förbokas, och alla kontaktuppgifter hittar du på vår webb.

🐟 Tjärnö akvarium har öppet hus med fritt inträde kl. 14.00–17.00 måndag till fredag.

Dessutom väntar fler spännande aktiviteter med havet i fokus. 🌊

Välkommen!

03/08/2026

03/08/2026

Hello everyone👋
We are the “Too Hot to Handle” team, investigating the thermal preferences of the green shore crab (Carcinus maenas) here in Tjärnö Bay, Sweden!

Do they prefer the hot tub or the cold plunge? Join us as we try to track their temperature choices in the lab 🌡️

Our research plan:
🦀Sample 30 crabs from Tjärnö Bay
🌡️Set up an experimental tank with a thermal gradient.
🔎Monitor their movement and location within the tank.

Some background:
🌊C. maenas is a eurythermic species meaning it can survive in a wide range of ambient temperatures (widespread invasive species!)
🌊We want to understand what specific temperature these crabs prefer here, in Tjärnö
🌊With global warming accelerating, how will these animals react to hotter waters?

Follow l to keep updated on our journey✨

.gu

03/08/2026

Kul att så många dök upp och hjälpte Kosterhavets nationalpark med restaurering av en ålgräsgäng i Kosterhavet.
Bra jobbat!
Läs mer nedan.

01/08/2026

🕵️‍♀️🦪 CLASSIFIED FILE: THE MISSING FILTRATION PATTERN 🔍🚔

Case ID: IMBRSea
Location: Tjärnö
Classification: Top Secret

The mission seemed simple.

Follow the current.
Track the particles.
Find the filter feeders.

Our prime hypothesis predicted a clear trail: high concentrations upstream, particle removal over the bivalve bed, and lower concentrations downstream.

💥 But the evidence told a different story. 💥

At several sites, suspended organic and inorganic particles increased downstream. At Site 3, chlorophyll-a increased significantly as well. One site showed the expected dip above the bed—but the pattern was not statistically significant. 💔

Four sites. Four different testimonies.

The suspects:

🌊 Changing water parcels
🌬️ Wind and water movement
🪨 Sediment resuspension
📍 Local depth and site conditions

Each had a motive.
Each had an opportunity.
None could be convicted alone.

Final intelligence report:
The expected filtration pattern was not simply erased. It was likely hidden beneath several interacting environmental processes.

🔒 CASE CLOSED?

Yes—’cause summer school is over. Will miss you guys!(｡･ω･｡)ﾉ

01/08/2026

Hello friendly waves! 🌊

We’ve been exploring how wave exposure, temperature, and the health of Zostera marina are connected. After countless field adventures, data analyses, and plenty of teamwork, Team 1 has some exciting news to share!

❓ Can wave exposure provide a thermal refuge for Zostera marina in a warming ocean?

Our main findings suggest that it can:

🌊 Wave-driven mixing provided localized cooling during warm temperature anomalies.

🌱 Meadows at moderately to highly exposed sites (such as Vattenholmen and Flatskär) showed significantly greater cover, biomass, and longest leaf length than sheltered sites, indicating enhanced meadow performance under moderate wave exposure.

🪸 Epiphyte coverage was highest at exposed sites, likely because wave-driven leaf movement enhances nutrient diffusion.

☀️ Photosynthetic efficiency varied among sites, but did not show a clear linear relationship with wave exposure.

Overall, our results show that wave exposure (up to 163.8 W m⁻¹) can buffer thermal stress in Zostera marina meadows by lowering local water temperatures and promoting greater meadow density, biomass, and leaf development.

In other words, hydrodynamically active areas may act as thermal refugia for seagrass under climate warming.

Do you have questions about our study? We'd love to answer! Send a message to 😊



gu

01/08/2026

🦪🌊 Diving into how wave exposure shapes oyster reefs in Tjärnö Bay, Sweden
Swipe through to see our results:

1️⃣Oyster density and shell size showed a slight tendency to increase in sheltered beds, though the differences weren't statistically significant.

2️⃣ Bigger oysters, denser beds — and this link was even stronger in sheltered waters than in wave-exposed ones! 📈

3️⃣ Exposed or sheltered, the fauna living among the oysters looks pretty similar, wave exposure alone doesn't seem to make a big difference in who lives there 🦀🐚

4️⃣ Take-home message:
It's not just the waves reef structure and microhabitats may matter more than exposure alone. More research is needed to fully understand these patterns! 🔬

Wave exposure may affect first the oyster bed development rather than an immediately effect on the associated epifauna structure.

Grateful for the chance to explore these questions hands-on in the field. Thanks to everyone who made this possible! 🙌
ENFIMOR TEAM 😊



gu

01/08/2026

The IMBRSea Summer School Odyssey reaches its end! 🧜‍♀️🌊

Between dodging Laestrygonians (absent eelgrass) and Cyclopes (coding bugs), Team M.E.R.M.A.I.D. pivoted a lot to reach Ithaca.

Our final question: Can low-cost drone RGB imagery and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) map shallow benthic substrates? 🚁🗺️

Our LDA had quite lot to say:
🎯 84.4% overall accuracy of recognising benthic substrates
🏖️ Sand predicted at 89.9% certainty
🟤 Brown algae at 86.0% certainty
🌿 Green algae at 74.5% certainty
🔴🟢 Red and green channels drove the separation.

The plot twist? Despite historical government records, we found zero Zostera marina in our transects—highlighting the urgent need for transparent, scalable coastal monitoring.

Through projects like this one, accessible statistical tools can nowadays empower local managers to track ecosystem shifts on a budget.

Huge thanks to our supervisor Laura-Marie Dehne and Tjärnö Marine Lab! Team M.E.R.M.A.I.D. will see you on the waves!



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