Dr. Heike Link

Marine Ecology and Scientific Coordination

Science Contact

Dr. Heike Link 
Faculty of Interdisciplinary Research
Department Maritime Systems
Albert-Einstein-Str. 21
18059 Rostock

heike.linkuni-rostockde

For matters concerning the Department Maritime Systems, please contact:
mts@uni-rostock.de

Research Interests

- biodiversity - ecosystem function - resource relation
- ecology of marine benthic communities
- polar regions
- measures of ecosystem function
- Characterisation of ecological significance of benthic habitats in the Arctic and Southern Ocean
- nutrient fluxes at the sediment-water interface
- benthic-pelagic and pelagic-benthic coupling
- benthic invertebrates

Projects

- BENToolsMaPs
- WOBEC
- Ocean Technology Campus 

2018 - 2021: Role of meio- and macrofauna in benthic ecosystem functioning: Testing effects of different ice cover regimes (PI, DFG)
2014 - 2017: Dynamics of benthic ecosystem functioning in response to the disintegration of the ice shelves in the western Weddell Sea (PI, DFG)
2013 - 2014: Benthic diversity and ecosystem processes in the System Laptev Sea: TRANSDRIFT (Postdoc, BMBF)
2008 - 2012: Studying the functioning of benthic hotspot and cold spot ecosystems in the Canadian Arctic (PhD, Canadian Healthy Oceans Network CHONe)
2006 - 2007: Global Approach by Modular Experiments - GAME (Diplom, GEOMAR/Japan)

Network associations

- Priority Program on Antarctic Research (DFG - SPP 1158)
- Association for Polar Early Career Scientists - APECS (Germany Board member)
- German Association for Polar Research (DGP)
- AnT-ERA (Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research SCAR)
- Alumni Future Ocean Kiel (Germany)
- Alumni Canadian Healthy Oceans Network - CHONe (Canada)
- Alumni ArcticNet (Canada)
- Alumni Global Approach by Modular Experiments - GAME (Germany)

Selected Publications

- Gutt J., Arndt S., Alan Barnes D. K., Bornemann H., Brey T., Eisen O., Flores H., Griffiths H., Haas C., Hain S., Hattermann T., Held C., Hoppema M., Isla E., Janout M., Le Bohec C., Link H., Mark F. C., Moreau S., Trimborn S., van Opzeeland I., Pörtner H. O.,  Schaafsma F., Teschke K., Tippenhauer S., Van de Putte A., Wege M., Zitterbart D., Piepenburg D. (2022) Reviews and syntheses: A framework to observe, understand and project ecosystem response to environmental change in the East Antarctic Southern Ocean

- Säring F., Veit-Köhler G., Seifert D., Liskow I., LInk H. (2022) Sea-ice-related environmental drivers affect meiofauna and macrofauna communities differently at large scales (Southern Ocean, Antarctic)

- Säring F., Bick A., Link H. (2022) A new species of Anobothrus (Polychaeta, Ampharetidae) from the Weddell Sea (Antarctica), with notes on habitat characteristics and an updated key to the genus

- Link H. (2021) Der Arbeitskreis Biologische und Ökologische Prozesse

- Massicotte P., M. W. Amon R., Antoine D., Archambault P., Balzano S., Bélanger S., Benner R., Boeuf D., Bricaud A., Bruyant F., Chaillou G., Chami M., Charrière B., Chen J., Claustre H., Coupel P., Delsaut N., Doxaran D., Ehn J., Fichot C., Forget M. H., Fu P., Gagnon J., Garcia N., Gasser B., Ghiglione J. F., Gorsky G., Gosselin M., Gourvil P., Gratton Y., Guillot P., J. Heipieper H., Heussner S., B. Hooker S., Huot Y., Jeanthon C., Jeffrey W., Joux F., Kawamura K., Lansard B., Leymarie E., Link H., Lovejoy C., Marec C., Marie D., Martin J., Martín J., Massé G., Matsuoka A., McKague V., Mignot A., L. Miller W., Miquel J. C., Mucci A., Ono K., Ortega-Retuerta E., Panagiotopoulos C., Papakyriakou T., Picheral M., Prieur L., Raimbault P., Ras J., A. Reynolds R., Rochon A., Rontani J. F., Schmechtig C., Schmidt S., Sempéré R., Shen Y., Song G., Stramski D., Tachibana E., Thirouard A., Tolosa I., Tremblay J. E., Vaïtilingom M., Vaulot D., Vaultier F., K. Volkman J., Xie H., Zheng G., Babin M. (2021) The MALINA oceanographic expedition: how do changes in ice cover, permafrost and UV radiation impact biodiversity and biogeochemical fluxes in the Arctic Ocean?

- Kiesel J., Bienhold C., Wenzhöfer F., Link H. (2020) Variability in Benthic Ecosystem Functioning in Arctic Shelf and Deep-Sea Sediments: Assessments by Benthic Oxygen Uptake Rates and Environmental Drivers

- Wei C. L., Cusson M., Archambault P., Belley R., Brown T., B. Brenda J., Edinger E., Kenchington E., Gilkinson K., Lawton P., Link H., A. Ramey-Balci P., Scrosati R. A., Snelgrove P. V. R. (2019) Seafloor biodiversity of Canada's three oceans: Patterns, hotspots and potential drivers

- Degen R., Aune M., Bluhm B. A., Cassidy C., Kedra M., Kraan C., Vandepitte L.,Włodarska-Kowalczuk M., Zhulay I., Albano P. G., Bremner J., Grebmeier J. M., Link H., Morata N., Nordström M. C., Shojaei M. G., Sutton L., Zuschin M. (2018) Trait-based approaches in rapidly changing ecosystems: A roadmap to the future polar oceans

- Pedersen, E. J., P. L. Thompson, R. A. Ball, M.-J. Fortin, T. C. Gouhier, H. Link, C. Moritz, H. Nenzen, R. R. E. Stanley, Z. E. Taranu, A. Gonzalez, F. Guichard, Pepin, P. (2017) Signatures of the collapse and incipient recovery of an overexploited marine ecosystem. Royal Society Open Science 4 170215. DOI: 10.1098/rsos.170215

- Rickert, E., Wahl, M., Link, H., Richter, H., Pohnert, G. (2016) Seasonal variations in surface metabolite composition of Fucus vesiculosus and Fucus serratus from the Baltic Sea. PLoS ONE e0168196. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168196

- Segelken-Voigt, A., Bracher, A., Dorschel, B., Gutt, J., Huneke, W., Link, H., & Piepenburg, D. (2016) Spatial distribution patterns of ascidians (Ascidiacea: Tunicata) on the continental shelves off the northern Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Biology 39(5), 863-879. doi: 10.1007/s00300-016-1909-y

- Link, H., Piepenburg, D., and Archambault, P. (2013) Are hotspots always hotspots? The relationship between diversity, resource and ecosystem functions in the Arctic, PLoS ONE, 8 (9): e77074. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0074077

- Link, H., Chaillou, G., Forest, A., Piepenburg, D., and Archambault, P. (2013) Multivariate benthic ecosystem functioning in the Arctic – benthic fluxes explained by environmental parameters in the southeastern Beaufort Sea. Biogeosciences, 10: 5911-5929. doi: 10.5194/bg-10-5911-2013

- Link, H., Archambault, P., Tamelander, T., Renaud, P.E., Piepenburg, D. (2011) Spring-to-summer changes and regional variability of benthic processes in the western Canadian Arctic. Polar Biology 34(12): 2025-2038. doi: 10.1007/s00300-011-1046-6

- Tremblay, J.-É., Bélanger, S., Barber, D., Asplin, M., Martin, J., Darnis, G., Fortier, L., Link, H., Gratton, Y., Archambault, P., Sallon, A., Michel, C., Williams, W., Gosselin, M., Philippe, B. (2011) Climate forcing multiplies biological productivity in the coastal Arctic Ocean. Geophysical Research Letters. 38: L18604. doi: 10.1029/2011GL048825

- Wahl, M., Link, H., Alexandridis, N., Thomason, J.C., Cifuentes, M., Costello, M.J., da Gama, B.A.P., Hillock, K., Hobday, A.J., Kaufmann, M.J., Keller, S., Kraufvelin, P., Krüger, I., Lauterbach, L., Antunes, B.L., Molis, M., Nakaoka, M., Nyström, J., bin Radzi, Z., Stockhausen, B., Thiel, M., Vance, T., Weseloh, A., Whittle, M., Wiesmann, L., Wunderer, L., Yamakita, T., Lenz, M. (2011) Re-Structuring of Marine Communities Exposed to Environmental Change: A Global Study on the Interactive Effects of Species and Functional Richness. PLoS ONE 6 (5):e19514. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0019514