Internship in seaweed science

An excellent opportunity to gain experience in scientific work and to participate in a future-oriented,  ecological topic in its very beginning.

We are currently offering an internship within the “Seaweed Project” in the Department for Biological Oceanography (BIO) of the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) on Texel.  
Seaweed fulfills many important functions in ecosystems. As 'ecosystem engineers' they have an impact on resource availability by affecting the sedimentation and influencing erosion. Barren rocky soils can be transformed into habitats with high structural complexity. At the same time seaweed also provides a food source for primary consumers, protection from predators and serve many animal species as a nursery. Seaweed plays an important role as a natural carbon dioxide sink, especially in the climate debate about rising CO2-emissions.

The global consumption of seaweed has multiplied many times in recent decades, so that in addition to the harvesting of natural resources, the culturing and extraction of algae from aquaculture is gaining more and more importance. Commercial and industrial algae cultivation has numerous uses, including production of food ingredients such as omega-3 fatty acids or natural food colorants and dyes, food, fertilizer, bio-plastics, chemical feedstock, pharmaceuticals, and algal fuel, and can also be used as a means of pollution control.

The goal of the project is to understand physiology and growth as well as loss terms of North Sea seaweed species to contribute to a sustainable seaweed production in the North Sea in future. The intern will help to establish and improve seaweed cultures in the laboratory and will also perform fundamental research on inter- and intraspecific growth correlated to different abiotic gradients. The project would suit a self-motivated and resourceful student, with a good experimental skills and practical ingenuity. Good English language skills are required.

The position is located on Texel, the Netherlands. Accommodation can be provided by the NIOZ.
Applicants are welcome to send an email of interest to Klaas Timmermans (Head of Department) or Alexander Lubsch (PhD candidate).