marine biology

For a long time the great part of our scientific activity has taken place in the Arctic and recently in the Antarctic as well. We work there on the basis of polar stations: The Stanisław Siedlecki Polish Polar Station in Hornsund, SW Spitsbergen and The Henryk Arctowski Antarctic Station on King George Island, Admiralty Bay. However, we also camp in other polar regions e.g. in Magdalenefjorden (NW Spitsbergen) or Bear Island.

The wide sphere of our studies includes:

MERG’s research work focuses on: (1) characterisation of benthic habitats; (2) monitoring of changes to local marine life resulting from ongoing environmental changes (e.g. warming sea temperatures, species range expansions, invasion by non-indigenous species); (3) assessing the services provided by habitats and ecosystems (i.e. their resource potential); (4) monitoring the effects of human impacts on these habitats; (5) evaluating the conservation status of local coastal and marine living resources.