The Sven Lovén Centre Kristineberg. A world of its own… Photo: Maike Nicolai, GEOMAR

One day, before having to go back to Kiel again, I climbed a rock close to the Sven Lovén Centre Kristineberg. The early spring sun proved its power and let the colours shine. Best photo conditions. Pausing a while and looking down on the tiny station village, it occurred to me: A medium-sized world. Isolated from its surroundings. Following its inherent rules. A cosmos of its own. This is Mesocosm Nr. 11!
Now, what is in there? A community of very diverse species. Each of them acts differently when exposed to the ever and again changing conditions. Some of the individuals behave predictably, some rather not – not to mention the reaction of the collective as a whole. The interchange within the community leads to very special dynamics worth keeping an eye on.

Rich nutrients are added three times a day, some sweet extras even in between. Most of this material is transferred into energy impressively fast – and used up at the same awesome speed. This seems to be due to the very special conditions at Gullmar Fjord, e.g. the cold, the wind and the lack of sleep. From time to time, stimuli from the outside make their way into this world: a skype call, the outcome of a shopping tour (fresh fruit!) or one of the eagerly awaited parcels containing lab consumables. TV, although Swedish, leaves its mark now and then, too.

As the ten original mesocosms, Mesocosm Nr. 11 has to be observed carefully from the outside – and that is in my case: Kiel. For this purpose, special instruments are required. The online weather forecast gives a good baseline. Salinity data from the station’s website can be interpreted as a special mood curve. E-mail is good for getting a more detailed impression. This blog and Facebook are highly recommendable. Finally, of course, a photo and a video camera are most helpful to take a really close look from time to time.

I like my own little long-term experiment. Do you stay tuned with me?

By Maike Nicolai