I am currently in the final year of my Master’s program at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel in Germany. For my thesis, I investigated the changes in seasonal thermal tolerance of Baltic copepods. With my experimental set-up I tried to disentangle the drivers behind the shifts in thermal tolerance we observed throughout the year. The poster I presented at the e-ICOC 2022 included first results of this project. The preliminary findings suggest that plasticity is the main driver of seasonal thermal tolerance in Acartia spp. in the Baltic Sea. After just a single generation of lab acclimation, there were significant effects of acclimation temperature, with higher temperatures tolerated by the warm acclimation group. Acclimation also had significant effects on body size, with higher temperatures resulting in smaller individuals. These findings reveal a capacity for thermal plasticity in Acartia, allowing for quick responses to environmental changes. I am aiming to finish my Master’s thesis by the end of 2022 and hope to continue researching copepods in my PhD.

I am honoured to have received a student award for my poster and lightning talk. It was very encouraging for me to obtain so much positive feedback early in my career and it reinforced my desire to continue working on copepods in the future. The e-ICOC was a great opportunity for me to engage with copepod scientists all over the world and start building a network. My gratitude goes to the organizers for encouraging participation of young scientists and granting me this unique experience.