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Our mission

Based on a variety of modelling efforts and the knowledge of key actors, we will explore possible adaptation measures and derive recommendations on governance in order to reduce the risk of tipping point impacts on the regional economy and increase the resilience of Peru's coastal communities.

Work and study with us

The interdisciplinary orientation of the project offers students and doctoral students from various disciplines the opportunity to write their thesis in one of the relevant fields. The DAAD's PROMOS programme offers support for research stays as part of the Bachelor's or Master's thesis.

Discover // Engage

Find further publications about our research!

New Report! Socioeconomic Impacts of Red Tides & Adaptation Strategies in Peru

New Report! Socioeconomic Impacts of Red Tides & Adaptation Strategies in Peru

Workshops Addressing Harmful Algal Blooms in Peru's Coastal Communities

The report presents the results of this participatory research, identifying primary impacts, adaptation strategies, and recommendations to enhance the management of HABs in Peru. Read the Spanish report here:

This browser does not support PDFs. Please view the PDF here.

New Paper! Our Blue Planet: Connecting Humans and the Ocean

New Paper! Our Blue Planet: Connecting Humans and the Ocean
© Frontiers for Young Minds

Social-ecological network analysis: a complex topic transformed into an engaging and enjoyable adventure accessible to young readers (age 8-15).

However, the journal isn’t just aimed towards young readers: the submitted papers are also reviewed by children, guided by science mentors. This process introduces curious minds to the world of science and makes complex scientific concepts accessible to the next generation of citizens and scientists, fostering a sense of responsibility towards our planet.

So, grab your virtual snorkel and dive into the world of social-ecological networks!

Kriegl M, Kochalski S, Straka TM, Gorris P, Schlüter A and Kluger LC (2024) Our Blue Planet: Connecting Humans and the Ocean. Front. Young Minds. 12:1076771. doi: 10.3389/frym.2023.1076771

Join our team: research assistant position in marine biogeochemical and climate change modeling

Join our team: research assistant position in marine biogeochemical and climate change modeling

Looking into the future of the Humboldt Current off the coast of Peru

Looking into the future of the Humboldt Current off the coast of Peru

Together with their project partners in Lima, researchers in Kiel are developing narratives for the adaptation of coastal fisheries on the Humboldt Current off Peru

Together with stakeholders such as coastal and industrial fishermen and nature conservation organizations or political decision makers, scientists from Kiel, Hamburg and Bremen want to identify and implement adaptation options for one of the world's most productive coastal ecosystems. Humboldt-Tipping has three main objectives: the evaluation of future scenarios on different spatial and temporal scales, the investigation of adaptation and transformation options, and the active communication and discussion of scientific results with local stakeholders.
In the first workshops of the second phase, narratives were developed based on the results of four years of research and assuming possible future social and economic developments. These narratives show different scenarios of the Humboldt Current system up to 2050, with a special focus on different coastal fisheries (e.g. anchovy), industrial fisheries and aquaculture of shrimps, scallops and seaweed. Knowledge of the different development options will enable scientists and stakeholders to develop timely management measures to contribute to food security (SDG 2) for the region and large parts of the world's population, and to support the promotion of sustainable fisheries (SDG 14). After the kick-off in Lima and Kiel, further workshops will follow, including with fishermen in Sechura, the capital of the province of Sechura in the Piura region of northwestern Peru.

Adapt or perish

Adapt or perish

Climate change alters coastal fisheries and society in Peru

Climate change has a direct impact on one of the most important fish areas in the world. Ecological, social and economic dynamics are closely linked in the Humboldt upwelling area like in hardly any other region on earth. Around eight per cent of the global catch of marine resources come from the coasts of Peru. Around 80 per cent of the total catch is exported as fishmeal and fish oil as main ingredients of aquaculture feed, for example to China and Norway.

 

Declining fish stocks cause local and global impacts

"In particular, the consequences for the global fishing economy are difficult to address without adaptation strategies that are both co-developed and subsequently supported by local user groups," says Professor Marie-Catherine Riekhof, director of the Center for Ocean and Society of the Kiel Marine Science (KMS) research priority area at Kiel University and coordinator of the Humboldt-Tipping project, which explicitly takes a holistic and transdisciplinary approach. Together with Peruvian scientific partners, researchers from Hamburg, Bremen and Kiel have built up a network of fishers, associations, municipalities and user groups from aquaculture and tourism and have developed methods with them on site to be able to adapt to the changing conditions. The initial basis for the work was the analysis of potential effects of a change in the nitrogen cycle in the Humboldt upwelling area. Inorganic nitrogen is a key nutrient that limits the growth of phytoplankton in many marine ecosystems. 

"However, our model analyses show that changes in plankton have far less impact on the productivity of fish stocks than expected. Rather, the results suggest that offspring survival and changes in the habitat itself have a major impact on stock fluctuations," says Dr. Mariana Hill from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, who had been working on possible biogeochemical tipping points in the Humboldt-Tipping project.

Ecosystem models were also created and climate projections were analyzed to make predictions about tipping points and future climate conditions. The projections show possible collapse or decline of some key species such as anchovy, but also steady changes such as near-surface warming in the Humboldt upwelling area.

 

No signs of abrupt habitat tipping points - adaptation still possible

"We currently see no signs of tipping points of the entire ecosystem," says Dr. Giovanni Romagnoni from the Center for Ocean and Society of the Kiel Marine Science (KMS) research centre at CAU. "The rather gradual decline in species diversity at the same time suggests that new species may be able to occupy the niches of those for which we have to predict collapse due to climate change, and thus take over their ecological role," says marine biologist Romagnoni, who recently moved from the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research to Kiel University.

In order to investigate the effects of different management options for dealing with tipping points, one of the work packages in Humboldt-Tipping created a conceptual framework, the so-called "Window of Tipping Point Analysis (WTPA)". With this, the different stakeholders can explore their options to act. "Good institutional frameworks can play a decisive role in mitigating negative consequences or even turning them into positive ones. In the second phase of Humboldt-Tipping, we want to concretize these adaptation strategies to the changing environmental conditions," says project coordinator Riekhof.

Virtual exhibition and educational platform presents four years of research at the Peruvian coast

The results of the project are presented in a virtual exhibition that was developed by Dr. Frederike Tirre from the Center for Ocean and Society of the Kiel Marine Science (KMS) research priority area at Kiel University. Tirre, responsible for research-based outreach and science communication in the first phase of the Humboldt Tipping Project, explains: “Visitors can explore life in and at the Humboldt Current and the various habitats in the ocean in a 3-D model and immerse themselves in the various topics in a playful way. The exhibition aims to create a feeling for the complexity of this significant system and shows how closely we, in Germany and Europe, are also connected to the upwelling area of the Humboldt Current off the coast of Peru."

Visitors will have the opportunity to gain a comprehensive overview of the area and its importance on a global scale. Those who want to learn more will also find further material on the exhibition topics, such as fisheries, sustainability, climate change and the Humboldt Current itself, in the section of information packages. Scientific posters, presentations, reports, interviews and all short films produced during the project can be found there as well. The virtual exhibition is online and freely accessible as a browser version in English, Spanish and German.

Link to the virtual exhibition:

https://virtex.humboldt-tipping.org/en/exhibition

Link to original press release:

www.uni-kiel.de/de/detailansicht/news/162-humboldt-tipping-peru

Germany and Peru Unite for the Humboldt Tipping Project:

Germany and Peru Unite for the Humboldt Tipping Project:

A Comprehensive Review of the Last Four Years and an Outlook for the Upcoming Second Phase

Visitors will then have the opportunity to gain a comprehensive overview of the field and its importance on a global scale. The virtual exhibition will continue to provide a valuable resource for learning more about this important research during the second phase of the project. At the same time, the exhibition will continue to grow and map the latest findings and future adaptation strategies based on the most current research.