| Summary: | Organisms that grow permanent hard body parts which persist beyond the organism’s lifetime, are potential “biorecorders”. These hard parts, e.g. mollusk shells, record the ambient environmental conditions throughout the organism´s life-span. In the terrestrial system, trees (dendrochronology) are used as such archives. Likewise calcium carbonate parts of corals, mollusks, and finfish record conditions in the marine environment (sclerochronology). Both morphological and biogeochemical parameters of carbonate structures can be correlated with environmental conditions of aquatic ecosystems. This project focuses on Arctica islandica, the longest lived marine invertebrate known so far which has been reported to live up to> 400 years. In order to examine the suitability of Arctica islandica as a “biorecorder ” I will compare increment morphology and biogeochemical parameters in space and time. One aim of this study is to link shell growth of Arctica islandica to local and regional ecosystem and climate conditions in the North Sea by building a master chronology for time series analysis. In order to examine a possible correlation between Arctica islandica shell morphology and the primary production of the North Sea, I intend to combine chlorophyll measuremts from Helgoland (since1890) and my increment data. A second aim is to reconstruct environmental history by profiling trace elements and/or stable isotopes along the growth
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