This spring some of us at the CEG group went on a field trip to the island of Sylt, located on the North Sea coast of Germany, very close to the border with Denmark (Figure 1). Biological research has a long tradition in this area, and Sylt in particular is one of the few hot spots in meiofaunal research worldwide. Luckily, it is also close enough to Oslo that we could drive there in less than two days, bringing all the equipment we needed to collect and process samples.
Our team included researchers, students and one technician, and we were able to combine three different sampling goals in one trip:
- Sample some more specimens for the Invertomics project (James Flemming)
- Train two exchange students within the Erasmus + program from Italy in meiofauna research (Sara Dessi and Giulia Casula)
- Train the technical assistant of the recently started MeioSkag project in sampling, processing, and identifying the four groups of the project (myself, Ana Teresa Capucho)
Being the leader of all these projects, Torsten Struck was involved in all of these procedures, besides having organized the trip.
We were able to use the lab facilities at the Wadden Sea Station (Figure 2) and sample at different locations around the island. These included both sheltered and exposed beaches, and mostly sand flats, a prime habitat for our targeted organisms. We also had time to do some sightseeing and hiking, to stretch our legs after spending many hours sitting in the lab (Figure 3).
I think all the participants agree it was a very successful trip. We travelled back to Oslo with approximately 200 fixed specimens for the Invertomics project, and collected many more for training purposes (these were returned to their habitats). We even had time for a few pit stops on the long trip back, both in Denmark and Sweden, as it was Giulia and Sara’s first time in Scandinavia.
