Research
Projects
Our research explores how marine phytoplankton and coastal ecosystems respond and adapt to long-term environmental change. By combining historical sediment archives, resurrection ecology, experimental approaches, genomics and ecosystem modeling, we reconstruct ecological and evolutionary changes from the past and translate this knowledge into more realistic predictions of how marine ecosystems will respond to future climate change.
MIMOSA - Applying Evolutionary Adaptation in Ecosystem Modeling, 2024-2026
This project brings evolutionary adaptation into ecosystem models to improve predictions of how coastal primary production will respond to climate change. Current models typically assume static species tolerance ranges, overlooking the capacity of phytoplankton to adapt as environmental conditions change. By integrating experimental evidence of thermal adaptation into the Finnish Coastal Nutrient Load Model (FICOS), we estimate future primary production in the Archipelago Sea under different warming and nutrient scenarios—with and without evolutionary adaptation. This cross-disciplinary approach aims to provide more realistic projections of how climate change will reshape the productivity and functioning of coastal ecosystems.
BIOSHIFT - Historical Biodiversity Shifts in the Archipelago Sea, 2024-2026
BIOSHIFT reconstructs how biodiversity in the Archipelago Sea has changed in response to more than a century of human influence. Using dated sediment archives, environmental DNA, microfossils and resurrection ecology, we investigate historical changes in phytoplankton communities and link them to pressures such as eutrophication, pollution and climate change. Initial results reveal pronounced shifts in community composition around the onset of eutrophication in the mid-20th century, including declining diversity and a transition from diatom- towards dinoflagellate-dominated communities.
AWARE - Adaptation to Warming Across European Coastal Waters, 2025-2029
AWARE investigates how marine phytoplankton have adapted to more than a century of global warming. By resurrecting dormant phytoplankton from historical sediments across European coastal waters, we can directly compare past and present populations and reconstruct evolutionary responses to changing temperatures. Combining resurrection ecology, thermal experiments and genomics, the project explores the mechanisms and ecological consequences of thermal adaptation, including effects on food quality and higher trophic levels. AWARE will also establish a paleo-algal strain collection, creating a unique resource for studying phytoplankton responses to environmental change.