Dr Kristina Beck

University Teacher in Marine Science

I am a marine biologist studying the response of cold-water corals to future environmental changes. I am currently working as a University Teacher in Marine Science at the University of Edinburgh and mainly teacher on the MSc Marine Systems and Policies and BSc Ecological and Environmental Sciences programmes. My research focusses on the effect of climate change on cold-water corals. In order to determine their response to future environmental changes, I conduct long-term aquarium experiments with multiple environmental drivers.

Biography

I completed my Bachelor in Biology in 2015 and my Master in Marine Biology in 2018 at the University of Bremen (Germany). During my Master’s studies and my PhD, I participated in four expeditions to the Huinay Scientific Field Station in Comau Fjord (Chile) to study cold-water corals under different natural environmental conditions. I finished my PhD “Cold-water corals in a changing ocean: Effects on their physiological performance” at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven (Germany) in 2022, where I studied the combined effects of ocean acidification, warming and food limitation on different life stages of the cold-water coral Caryophyllia huinayensis in an aquarium experiment. I also investigated the acclimatisation potential of Desmophyllum dianthus to environmental changes in a reciprocal transplantation experiment in its natural habitat. I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh in the iAtlantic and One Ocean Hub projects from 2022 until 2024. During this time, I conducted a year-long multiple driver experiment with the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa at the St Abbs Marine Station. In this experiment, I investigated the combined effects of ocean acidification, warming, deoxygenation and reduced food availability on the physiology of live corals, as well as the integrity of the dead coral framework. 

Publications

  • Beck KK, Schmidt-Grieb GM, Kayser AS, Wendels J, Kler Lago A, Meyer S, Laudien J, Häussermann V, Richter C & Wall M (2024) Cold-water coral energy reserves and calcification in contrasting fjord environments, Scientific Reports Publication link
  • Wall M, Beck KK, Garcia-Herrera N, Schmidt-Grieb GM, Laudien J, Höfer J, Försterra G, Held C, Nehrke G, Woll M, Graeve M & Richter C (2023) Trophic relationships and energetic trade-offs of the cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus under optimal and limiting conditions revealed by fatty acid trophic markers, Functional Ecology Publication link
  • Beck KK, Nierste J, Schmidt-Grieb GM, Lüdtke E, Naab C, Held C, Nehrke G, Steinhoefel G, Laudien J, Richter C & Wall M (2023) Ontogenetic differences of the cold-water coral Caryophyllia huinayensis in response to ocean acidification, warming and food availability. Science of The Total Environment. Publication link
  • Steinhoefel G, Beck KK, Benthien A, Richter K-U, Schmidt-Grieb GM & Bijma J (2023) Matrix-independent boron isotope analysis of silicate and carbonate reference materials by ultraviolet femtosecond laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with application to the cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry. Publication link
  • Beck KK, Schmidt-Grieb GM, Laudien J, Försterra G, Häussermann V, González HE, Espinoza JP, Richter C & Wall M (2022) Environmental stability and phenotypic plasticity benefit the cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus in an acidified fjord, Communications Biology. Publication link