Jens Floeter

Dr. Jens Floeter is a Researcher at the University of Hamburg, Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences, Department of Biology, Institute of Marine Ecosystem and Fisheries Sciences (IMF). He has been working as a Scientific Staff Member in the Fisheries Science research group under Prof. Dr. Christian Möllmann since November 2008. His research focuses on marine ecosystem dynamics, particularly examining the interactions between fisheries, offshore wind farms, and marine ecological processes in the North Sea and Baltic Sea regions.

Dr. Floeter earned his doctorate (Promotion) in 2005 from the University of Hamburg with a dissertation titled "An investigation of key processes affecting trophic interactions in the North Sea fish assemblage and their significance for multi species fisheries assessment" at the Institut für Hydrobiologie & Fischereiwissenschaft. He completed his Diplom der Biologie in 1998 with a thesis on "Analyse und Modellierung der Nahrungsselektion von Nordseefischen" (Analysis and modeling of food selection by North Sea fish), and began his biology studies at the University of Hamburg in 1991.

Dr. Floeter's research spans several interconnected areas within marine ecology and fisheries science. His primary focus is on understanding how offshore wind farms impact marine ecosystems, particularly examining pelagic effects, trophic interactions, and habitat changes. He investigates coupling of spatio-temporal scales in marine ecosystems, higher trophic level food web dynamics, and develops methods for multi-species fisheries assessment. His work often combines field observations with modeling approaches to address complex ecosystem questions. A significant portion of his research examines plankton habitats, predator-prey relationships, and the impacts of anthropogenic structures on marine communities.

Analysis of Dr. Floeter's recent publications reveals a strong focus on the ecological impacts of offshore renewable energy infrastructure, particularly wind farms. His research spans physical oceanography (examining wind-wake effects and upwelling/downwelling), biological responses (plankton habitat identification, copepod behavior), and fisheries implications. He has increasingly incorporated advanced analytical methods including machine learning for plankton image classification and tensor decomposition for community ecology analysis. His work demonstrates a consistent trajectory of examining how human activities intersect with marine ecosystem dynamics, with growing emphasis on renewable energy infrastructure impacts.

• synKoFiMo (2015-2017): "Darstellung von Synergien im Kolk- und Fischmonitoring in Offshore-Windparks" (Demonstrating synergies in scour and fish monitoring in offshore wind farms)
• UNCOVER (2007): "UNderstanding the Mechanisms of Stock ReCOVERy"
• BECAUSE (2004-2007): "Critical Interactions BEtween Species and their Implications for a PreCAUtionary FiSheries Management in a variable Environment"
• LIFECO (2001-2004): "Linking hydrographic Frontal activity and ECOsystem dynamics in the North Sea & Skagerrak"
• SYCON (1999-2000): "Synthesis of North Sea research and development of a new research strategy"

Dr. Floeter has extensive experience with field research methods, including work with high-speed towed multi-sensor vehicles (TRIAXUS, SCANFISH) for ecosystem monitoring. His research group collaborates with multiple institutions including the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (HZG), Thünen Institute, and various international partners. His laboratory work focuses on analyzing marine ecosystem dynamics using a combination of field observations, remote sensing data, and computational modeling approaches to understand complex marine systems and inform sustainable management practices.