Unravelling the Past and Present: Marine Phytoplankton Population Dynamics in the face of the Anthropocene
Doctoral defense by Alexandra Schmidt, supervised by Laura Epp
- Date: May 9, 2025
- Time: 11:00 AM - 01:30 PM (Local Time Germany)
- Speaker: Alexandra Schmidt
- Location: University of Konstanz
- Room: U307a + online

During my PhD, I explored how Baltic Sea phytoplankton populations, especially the diatom Skeletonema marinoi,
have responded to environmental pressures over the past 8,000 years.
Using a mix of sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA), molecular ecology, and
resurrected resting stages, I tracked population dynamics and found
long-term genetic stability that is now being challenged by human
impacts. This work shows how genomic monitoring can help us understand
and assess ecosystem resilience.