Low contamination of Antarctic krill with microplastics
Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)
Published: 13 February 2024
A new AWI study finds minimal microplastic contamination in Antarctic krill, suggesting it could serve as an indicator species. The research stresses the need for strict protocols to avoid false positives in microplastic detection.
Keywords: AWI, indicator species, Southern Ocean, contamination monitoring, standardised protocols
Traces of Ice Age hunters discovered in the Baltic Sea
Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)
Published: 13 February 2024
Researchers discovered a nearly 1-km-long Ice Age stone wall in Mecklenburg Bay, likely built 11,000 years ago by reindeer hunters. It’s the oldest known human-made structure in the Baltic Sea, shedding light on early post-glacial societies.
Keywords: stone wall, Baltic Sea, early humans, Alfred Wegener Institute, archaeology, Kiel University, AWI
The role of jellyfish as a food source in the Arctic winter
Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)
Published: 14 February 2024
AWI researchers found that Arctic amphipods feed on jellyfish during the polar night, revealing jellyfish play a larger role in Arctic food webs than previously thought—likely increasing as climate change brings more warm-water species north.
Keywords: Arctic, jellyfish, amphipods, food web, polar night, DNA metabarcoding
