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Employee information:

Name: Eva-Maria Zetsche
Department: YERSEKE ECOSYSTEM STUDIES (YES)
Email: Eva-Maria.Zetsche(at)nioz.nl
Telephone: +31 (0)113 577 322

About:

 

Dr. Eva-Maria Zetsche
Post-doctoral researcher
Department: Ecosystem Studies (YES)
T. +31 (0) 113 577 322
F. +31 (0) 113 573 616

Eva-Maria.Zetsche(at)nioz.nl

Visiting address:

Korringaweg 7

4401 NT Yerseke

The Netherlands

Postal address:

Postbus 140

4400 AC Yerseke

The Netherlands

Short CV

   
2010 - present Guest researcher at the Department of Ecosystem Studies, Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research. Employed by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Belgium.
2006 – 2010 PhD Research (Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology) at Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen, Scotland: Metabolic Activity in Intertidal Sands: the Role of Permeability and Carbon Sources. Funded by an ACES studentship.
2005 Environmental consultant for Ecoworks, Belize, Central America
2002 – 2004 M.Sc. International Studies in Aquatic Tropical Ecology at the University of Bremen, Germany. MSc Thesis: Macroalgal Production and Herbivory on Different Reef Substrates of Turneffe Islands Atoll, Belize. Partial funding by a DAAD-Scholarship (German Academic Exchange Service)
1998 – 2001 B.Sc. (Hons) Oceanography with Marine Biology at the University of Southampton, England. BSc Thesis: An Investigation into the Bio-Optical Modelling Capabilities of Above-Water Radiometry.

 

Research Interests

 
 Topics:  
  • Digital holographic microscopy
  • Marine gel characterization
  • Algal cell research
  • Coral reef ecology
  • Sediment biogeochemistry
  Techniques:
  • Digital holographic microscopy
  • Light and epifluorescence microscopy
  • Stirred chamber incubations

  

Current Research and Projects

 

How can we use digital holographic microscopy in the environmental sciences?

Following on from the results of the HoloFlow I project, we continue working on environmental applications of the DHM, in particular marine science applications, and possible future commercialization of these. Efforts will continue on algal research, visualizing marine polymers as well as in ballast water organism detection technologies.

INNOVIRIS-funded HoloFlow II Project (May 2012-April 2014)
 

What invisible particles do we find on coral reefs?

The dynamics of non-living organic matter such as transparent exopolymeric particles (TEP) and Coomassie stained particles (CSP) were studied recently on the reefs of Eilat (Israel). Reef waters were sampled for these sugar (TEP) and protein (CSP) particles and will give us a better understanding of carbon sources that are to be found here.

Access was provided by the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat (IUI) via the ASSEMBLE program Call 7 (May 2013).
 

Digital holographic microscopy - its use in the marine sciences

In this project we looked at the use of a unique type of microscopy: digital holographic microscopy (DHM) for studying applications in the marine sciences. This collaborative project involved the ULB (Microgravity Research Centre, Universite Libre de Bruxelles) as the instrumentation developers as well as three partners at ULB and VUB, of which our department (ANCH, VUB) was responsible for screening promising scientific applications in the field of oceanography. The use of the HoloFlow DHM imaging system was tested on a range of marine biological material. Phytoplankton and zooplankton as well as mucoid substances such as extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), transparent exopolymeric particles (TEP) and coral mucus were investigated. DHM can be very useful in visualizing these ‘invisible’ substances such as polymers, but also has great advantages for algal cell characterization and classification work in stationary or flow-through mode. The ability to detect cells at a much greater depth of focus and to obtain quantitative phase information, have also made the technology attractive for possible ballast water monitoring tasks. OVIZIO is the spin-off company of the project founded in 2009, which has commercialized the technology, largely for the biotechnology sector.

INNOVIRIS-funded HoloFlow I Project (May 2009-April 2012)

 

Publications

 

Zetsche E, Meysman FJR (2012). Dead or alive? Viability assessment of micro- and meroplankton. Journal of Plankton Research, 34: 493-509. doi: 10.1093/plankt/fbs018

Zetsche E, Bulling MT, Witte, U (2012). Permeability of intertidal sandflats: Impact of temporal variability on sediment metabolism. Continental Shelf Research, 42: 41–50. doi: 10.1016/j.csr.2012.04.020

Zetsche E, Paterson DM, Lumsdon DG, Witte U (2011). Temporal variation in the sediment permeability of an intertidal sandflat. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 441:49-63. doi: 10.3354/meps09390

Zetsche E, Thornton B, Midwood AJ, Witte U (2011). Utilisation of different carbon sources in a shallow estuary identified through stable isotope techniques. Continental Shelf Research, 31: 832-840. doi: 10.1016/j.csr.2011.02.006.