Juliane Ewald, Dr. Timo Rittweg, and Dr. Anika Preuss (from left) received the “Forschungsstiftung Ostsee” awards on April 14 at the German Oceanographic Museum . | Photo: Anke Neumeister, German Oceanographic Museum
In his doctoral thesis, written at the IGB, Dr. Timo Rittweg focused on a significant fish species that had previously received little scientific attention: the pike found in the inland coastal waters of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are a freshwater species that has adapted to life in brackish water. Timo Rittweg discovered that there is a previously unimagined diversity within the pike populations around Rügen. The population is divided into three genetically distinct groups that differ significantly in their migration and feeding behaviors. For example, as they grow larger, pike that have adapted to life and reproduction in brackish water focus more heavily on marine prey. Spring-spawning herring, in particular, represent an important food source. This finding demonstrates how the development of the open Baltic Sea affects the dynamics of fish in the inner Bodden waters. Although age-specific growth differs between the subgroups, lifetime growth performance—and thus individual fitness—remains the same. This allows the subpopulations to coexist.
We at the IGB would like to congratulate Timo on this award and wish him all the best for his future career!
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Read the press release from the MEERESMUSEUM Stralsund (in German) >
Timo Rittweg currently works as a researcher at the Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute.
