Chair in Zoology
- About
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- Email Address
- u.witte@abdn.ac.uk
- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 274413
- Office Address
Cruickshanks Bdg.
room 2.14
St. Machar Drive
Aberdeen
- School/Department
- School of Biological Sciences
- Research
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Research Overview
Benthic ecosystem functioning, anthropogenic impacts and climate change
The Witte group investigates the functioning of benthic marine ecosystems and benthic-pelagic coupling from the deep ocean floor to the intertidal, with a current focus on consequences of both anthropogenic activities and climate change.
This often includes the development of new research technologies, and one focus of ongoing work is the development of a pressurised coring, incubation and cultivation system for the study of biogeochemical processes and piezophile microorganisms from the deep seafloor under varying environmental conditions (pH, T, O2 etc).
Sea ice is a unique feature of polar marine ecosystems and the fact that small temperature differences can have large effects on the extent and thickness of this sea ice makes polar marine ecosystems particularly sensitive to climate change. The group’s work on climate change impacts on benthic ecosystem functioning is therefore centred in both the Arctic and the Antarctic peninsula where change is particularly rapid.
In many cases, stable isotope tracing experiments, often carried out in situ at the deep-sea floor, help us track the pathway of organic matter, in particular C and N, through the benthic community and thus understand the spatial and temporal dynamics of biological and geochemical transformations of matter in benthic and benthopelagic foodwebs.
But we also work closer to home: Aberdeen is often referred to as the ‘oil capital of Europe’, and with hydrocarbon extraction now occurring down to 1100 m in the Faroe Shetland Channel, a need arises to understand the consequences of accidental releases in Scottish deep water environments in order to improve monitoring and optimize response measures after a spill. Several ongoing projects therefore investigate the rates and pathways of hydrocarbon degradation in Scottish Waters, as well as the microorganisms involved.
Funding and Grants
Transformation of Antarctic Benthic Food Webs on the Larsen Ice Shelf following Loss of Sea-Ice Cover (TABOSI). 2019-2021. Polarstern Nebennutzerantrag. PI Witte.
Benthic biodiversity under Antarctic ice-shelves - baseline assessment of the seabed exposed by the 2017 calving of the Larsen-C Ice Shelf. NERC urgency application; 2018-19, CoI, PI Linse.
Continuous observation of deep-sea benthic community structure and benthic-pelagic coupling throughout the polar night and summer ice melt. NERC Arctic office. PI Witte 2017-2018
Using the intrinsic recovery capabilities of deep-sea and polar ecosystems to reduce the impact of accidental oil release. NERC Oil and Gas DTP. PI Witte, 2014-2018
Increasing oil spill preparedness for Scottish deep waters - the role of sediments in a deep water oil spill. MarCRF. PI Witte with A. Gallego and J. Anderson. 2014-2018
Fate and flow of oil carbon in the marine food web – towards efficient monitoring of oil contamination. NERC CASE PhD studenthsip 2014- 2018. PI Witte
The natural capacity for oil degradation of marine environments. NERC PI Witte with J. Anderson and E. Gontikaki. £98,871, 2013-2015.
ArcDeep: Deep-sea ecosystem functioning in a changing climate: consequences of changing sea-ice cover for Arctic benthic ecosystems . NERC standard grant proposal; PI Witte, with F. Kuepper. £508,490, Appr. 2013 – 2017
MAC-EXP: A pressurised coring, experimentation and cultivation system for deep-sea sedimentary ecosystems. NERC Technology-led standard grant.2012-2014. Lead: Witte (Aberdeen), with Parkes, (Cardiff). Awarded. £552000. 2013- 2017.
PharmaSea: Planet Ocean – Streamlining the Marine Biodiscovery Pipeline. EC FP7-KBBE-2012-6(PI: M Jaspers. Total volume 10 Mio €. Aberdeen: € 725000. 2012- 2017
"The role of micronutrients in deep-sea carbon cycling". The Leverhulme Trust, 2007 -2010
Bacterial Diversity and Carbon Turnover at the Abyssal Seafloor –proposal to apply 454-based tag sequencing technology to deep-sea sediments. Keck foundation – 2008/ 2009.
"Rates and pathways of carbon cycling at the abyssal sea floor: a long-term, in situ experimental study". NERC, 2007-2010
HERMIONE –– Hotspot Ecosystem Research at Continental Margins; April 2009- September 2012.
Carnegie Trust – Development of Scottish resources for seafloor biogeochemical process studies. August 2008 – July 2010. £29800
"Nutrient regeneration in North Sea coastal sediments". FRF, 2006-2009
"Carbon turnover and trophic relationships in theabyssal Pacific", NERC-LSMSF, 2007/08
COBO - Towards a Coastal Ocan Benthic Observatory (EC) 2004 - 2007
- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
SX1015 The Oceans and Society in a changing environment. 6th century course. Course coordinator and coordiantor theme 1.
BI 1006 BUGS (Biology for Undergraduates) tutor Marine Biology
BI25Z4 Ocean Biology
ZO3306 Marine Ecology and Ecosystems
BI39Z1 Marine Ecology Florida field course
ZO4542 Marine Benthic Ecology
BI4517, BI4017 SBS Honours Essay
BI4016 SBS Honours Project
- Publications
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The effect of chemical dispersant concentration on hydrocarbon mobility through permeable North-East Scotland sands
Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, vol. 214, pp. 72-81Contributions to Journals: ArticlesUnravelling the versatile feeding and metabolic strategies of the cold-water ecosystem engineer Spongosorites coralliophaga (Stephens, 1915)
Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, vol. 141, pp. 71-82Contributions to Journals: ArticlesAdvective pore-water transport of hydrocarbons in North East Scotland coastal sands
Environmental Science and Pollution Research , vol. 25, no. 28, pp. 28445-28459Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2815-3
Hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria in deep-water subarctic sediments (Faroe-Shetland Channel)
Journal of Applied Microbiology, vol. 125, no. 4, pp. 1040-1053Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEffect of spatial origin and hydrocarbon composition on bacterial consortia community structure and hydrocarbon biodegradation rates
FEMS Microbiology Ecology, vol. 94, no. 9, pp. fiy127-fiy127Contributions to Journals: ArticlesBacterial Community Response in Deep Faroe-Shetland Channel Sediments Following Hydrocarbon Entrainment With and Without Dispersant Addition
Frontiers in Marine Science: Deep-Sea Environments and Ecology, vol. 5, pp. 1-17Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00159
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/10462/1/fmars_05_00159.pdf
Current status of deepwater oil spill modelling in the Faroe-Shetland Channel, Northeast Atlantic, and future challenges
Marine Pollution Bulletin, vol. 127, pp. 484-504Contributions to Journals: Review articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.12.002
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Short-term processing of ice algal- and phytoplankton-derived carbon by Arctic benthic communities revealed through isotope labelling experiments
Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 600, pp. 21-39Contributions to Journals: ArticlesBenthic macroinfaunal community structure, resource utilisation and trophic relationships in two Canadian Arctic Archipelago polynyas
PloS ONE, vol. 12, no. 8, e0183034Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0183034
Ice algae vs. phytoplankton: resource utilization by Arctic deep sea macroinfauna revealed through isotope labelling experiments
Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 572, pp. 1-18Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12157
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/8744/1/Ice_algae_versus.pdf