Ghent University has together with Digital Arts And Entertainment students from HOWEST, created an interactive experience that delves into the intriguing and enigmatic world of microbiomes. This unique game allows players to step into the shoes of bacteria living within a seaweed host and explore the intricate web of interactions and dependencies that govern this mysterious realm. Inspired by...
All organisms leave a trace of DNA in the environment that they inhabit, including those living in the ocean. We call this type of DNA, environmental DNA (eDNA). Example sources of eDNA include, but are not limited to, faeces, mucus, gametes, shed skin and dead cells. We can sample this DNA and analyse it to figure out who was there! In our case, we will use eDNA to study the biodiversity in...
What are marine forests? Marine forests are biodiverse-rich ecosystems engineered by key structural taxa of macroalgae, seagrass and corals. Depending on the keystone taxa, we can separate them in three main ecosystems: seaweed banks, seagrass meadows and coral reefs. Seagrass meadows Seagrasses are marine flowering plants rooted to the seafloor. They can grow over large areas, creating...
Hello! I am Sofie, a PhD student at the University of Ghent, currently working on unravelling the role Laminaria ochroleuca’s microbiome plays in its growth and development. Laminaria ochroleuca, also known as the golden kelp, is a temperate brown seaweed species, mainly found in the coastal waters of Europe ranging from the UK to Morocco (1,2). It plays an important role in rocky shore...
My name is Emma. I am pursuing a master in ecology and evolution, and was lucky enough to become a part of the RESTORESEAS project.
The team at Ghent University wants to boost restoration efforts for golden kelp by supplementing juvenile kelps with probiotics.