Master thesis: Effects of Microplastics on Microbial Communities in Arctic Deep-Sea Sediments

Area of research:Diploma & Master Thesis

Part-Time Suitability:The position is suitable for part-time employment.

Job description:Master thesis: Effects of Microplastics on Microbial Communities in Arctic Deep-Sea Sediments BackgroundThe Arctic Ocean is increasingly exposed to anthropogenic pressures, including plastic pollution. High concentrations of microplastics have been detected in sediments at the HAUSGARTEN deep-sea observatory in Fram Strait. However, their potential effects on benthic microbial communities and their functions remain largely unknown.

In this project, we will investigate how environmentally derived microplastics affect microbial communities in Arctic deep-sea sediments. Sediments that were collected during the 2026 Polarstern expedition to HAUSGARTEN will be used to establish a controlled microcosm experiment, where microbial communities are exposed to microplastics produced from plastic debris collected by an ROV from the HAUSGARTEN seafloor. The Master’s student will investigate potential effects on bacterial abundance, microbial community composition and activity by comparing microplastic-amended treatments with control treatments.

The project will provide hands-on experience with microcosm experiments, microscopy, extracellular enzymatic activity assays, microbial community analysis, and data evaluation. You will work with samples originating from the Arctic deep sea and contribute to ongoing frontier research on the environmental impacts of microplastic pollution.

Your Tasks

• Maintain and sample microcosm experiments
• Quantify bacterial abundance using Acridine Orange Direct Counts
• Measure extracellular enzymatic activities using substrate incubations
• Characterize microbial community composition through DNA extraction and Illumina amplicon sequencing
• Analyze and statistically evaluate the experimental data
• Measurement of additional parameters (DOC, transcriptome) if feasible
• Interpret the results

Your Profile

• Enrolled at an University
• BSc in Biology, Microbiology, Environmental Sciences, Marine Sciences or a related field
• Experience with laboratory work (e.g. microbiology, molecular biology, biogeochemistry) is desirable
• Basic experience with data analysis and statistics is an advantage
• Ability to work independently, carefully and reliably, and as part of a team
• Good spoken and written English and the ability to work in an international research environment

Further InformationYou are interested?You are interested?Please send your application, including (1) a letter of motivation, (2) your CV, (3) your university transcripts (combined into a single PDF) to Dr. Melanie Bergmann (Melanie.Bergmann@awi.de) and Dr. Christina Bienhold (cbienhol@mpi-bremen.de).

Applications can be submitted as long as this advertisement is still online.
This research center is part of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers. With more than 42,000 employees and an annual budget of over € 5 billion, the Helmholtz Association is Germany's largest scientific organisation.