Personal details
Katarzyna Błachowiak-Samołyk
kasiab@iopan.pl
Department of Marine Ecology
Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Sciences
Powstańcow Warszawy 55
81-712 Sopot, Poland
+48 58 7311 777
Education
  • 2020- Professor at the Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Sciences
  • 2009-2020 Associated Professor at Institute of Oceanology of Polish Academy of Sciences (IO PAS), Department of Marine Ecology
  • 2002-2009 Senior research scientist, zooplankton specialist at IO PAS, Department of Marine Ecology Habilitation: "Dynamics of zooplankton community in the Marginal Ice Zone of European Arctic"
  • 1997-2001 Research scientist, Marine Biology Centre of Polish Academy of Sciences, Genetic Lab and Baltic Ecology Department
  • 1991-1996 Ph.D. studies at the University of Gdansk, Faculty of Biological Oceanography Ph.D. thesis: "Ostracoda from West Antarctica"
  • 1986-1991 M.Sc. at the University of Gdansk, Faculty of Biological Oceanography M.Sc. thesis: "Chaetognatha from Drake Passage and Bransfield Strait (Antarctica)"
Scientific interest
  • Ecology of polar zooplankton
  • Innovative methods for complex plankton investigations
  • Food web structure
  • Diel vertical migration (DVM)
  • Taxonomy, ecology and zoogeography of pelagic Ostracoda
Professional experience
  • 2016-2016 PERMANOVA workshop, Auckland, New Zeland
  • 2016-2016 Participation in AREX summer cruise-around Svalbard
  • 2015-2015 Co-organizer of Plankton Research in Svalbard (PRIS) workshop at University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS)
  • 2014-2014 Participation in AREX summer cruise
  • 2012-2012 Participation in 2 Norwegian Arctic cruises: winter (Polar Night in January) and summer (in July)
  • 2011-2011 Tutoring at the Young Scientist Forum Workshop, ARCTOS Ph.D. School, associated with Arctic Frontiers Conference (Lofoten, Norway, January/February 2011)
  • 2010-2010 Deployment of the internet identification key entitled “Atlas of pelagic Svalbard Ostracoda” by Błachowiak-Samołyk, Baczewska A., Angel M.V. and Wichorowski M. Available from IO PAS web-site: http://www.iopan.gda.pl/services/apso/main.php
  • 2009-2010 Participation in 2 AREX summer cruises dedicated ALKEKONGE project
  • 2008-2008 Teacher at 3 weeks lasting course (taxonomical expertise) on pelagic Arctic, Antarctic and Alaskan ostracods at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, School of Fisheries and Ocean Science
  • 2008-2008 Deployment of the internet identification key to 130 species of “Atlantic pelagic ostracods” by Angel M.V., Błachowiak-Samołyk, K. & Chavtur V.G. Available from Natural History Museum London web-site: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/proj
  • 2007-2007 Building taxonomical expertise on deep-water pelagic Atlantic ostracods onboard of RV Polarstern ANT XXIV/1 during Census of Marine Zooplankton cruise: http://www.cmarz.org/Polarstern2007/index.html
  • 2007- Working in RAMS (Register of Antarctic Marine Species) taxonomical experts group (within SCAR-MarBIN) on pelagic ostracods
  • 2006-2006 Statistical methods in ecology - workshop, Toruń, Poland
  • 2004-2004 Participation in Norwegian cruise within CABANERA (Carbon flux and ecosystem feedback in the northern Barents Sea in an era of climate change) project 2
  • 2003-2003 Deployment of the internet identification key: “An Atlas of Southern Ocean Planktonic Ostracods” by Kasia Blachowiak-Samolyk & Martin Angel: http://ocean.iopan.gda.pl/ostracoda/
  • 2003-2003 Participation in Norwegian cruise within On Thin Ice (Climatic Influence on Energy Flow and Trophic Structure in Arctic Marine Ecosystems) project
Grants and awards
  • 2022-2025 - 2021/43/B/NZ8/01364; What really matters for a High-Arctic zooplanktivorous seabird foraging in rapidly changing environment - prey size or energy content? (LAPSE – project) Koordynatorka ze strony IO PAN
  • 2020-2023 - Coastal ecosystem carbon balance in times of rapid glacier melt (CoastCarb) - projekt EU: MSCA-RISE-2019, nr: 872690; Horizon 2020 - Research and Innovation Framework Programme (co-ordinator from IO PAN)
  • 2019-2022 - Changes in the structure and functioning of pelagic ecosystems related to the darkening of European Arctic waters (CoastDark) NCN OPUS 2018/29/B/NZ8/02463 (project leader)
  • 2016-2017 - Isfjorden Marine Observatory Svalbard (IMOS) (3550/Norway/2016/2) Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (project leader)
  • 2016-2020 - Influence of relationship between protists and zooplankton on Svalbard planktivorous birds population (SEAPOP II) (3605/SEAPOP/2016/2). Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (project leader)
  • 2014-2015 - Variability of Arctic zooplankton populations as a food source for seabirds on Spitsbergen (SeaPOP) (3088/SEAPOP/2014/2) Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (project leader)
  • 2014-2017 - Declining size - a general response to climate warming in Arctic fauna? (DWARF) - Polish-Norwegian Research Fund (Pol-Nor/201992/93/2014) (participant)
  • 2014-2017 - Is size so crucial? Complex examination of plankton size structure in the warming European Arctic (PicMac) - Polish National Science Centre (2013/09/B/NZ8/03365) (project leader)
  • 2013-2014 - Seasonality of Arctic plankton community of Isfjorden (UniPlankton) (2736/UniPlankton/2013), Polish Ministry of Education and Science (project leader)
  • 2009-2011 - Pelagic ostracods as indicators of deep circulation in the Tropical Atlantic” (PELOTA) (DPN/DWM/AD/5348/08/09), Polish Ministry of Higher Education and Science (project leader)
  • 2009-2011 - The Kongsfjorden - Hausgarten transect case study: Impact of climate on Arctic marine community structures and food webs (KongHau) (DPN/DWM/AD/5348/08/09) Polish Ministry of Education and Science (project leader)
  • 2008-2011 - Response of marine and terrestrial ecosystems to climate changes in Arctic – links between physical environment, biodiversity of zooplankton and seabird populations (ALKEKONGE) – Polish-Norwegian Research Fund (PNRF-234-AI-1/07) (leader of zooplankton task)
  • 2007-2009 - Taxonomy and zoogeography boundaries of pelagic ostracods in Svalbard waters - mini-grant ArcOD (Arctic Ocean Biodiversity) (project leader)
  • 2007 - Project SYNTHESYS GB-TAF-3708 (European Commission FPVI programme “Integrated Infrastructure Initiative”), Revision of pelagic Atlantic ostracods taxonomy, Natural History Museum, London, UK
  • 2005-2006 - "Bonus for Baltic Sea science-Network of Funding Agencies" EU BONUS (project investigator)
  • 2003-2004 - Research Exchange Fellowships awarded by the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society of London for co-operation with Dr. Martin Angel from Southampton Oceanography Centre, UK
  • 2003 - Project COBICE (European Commission FPV programme “Integrated Infrastructure Initiative”), Arctic zooplankton taxonomy, Copenhagen Zoological Museum, Denmark
  • 2002 - Danish Government Scholarship – University of Aarhus, Department of Marine Ecology, Denmark
  • 2001 - The Minister of Environment award for particular achievements in protection, shaping and utilization of the environment and its resources for the study “Natural valuation of the marine parts of the Baltic Sea Protected Areas in the Pomeranian voivodship”
Selected presentations
  • Wichorowski M., Błachowiak-Samołyk K., Boehnke R., Ostaszewska K., Trudnowska E.
    Development of neural network for estimation of feeding fields quality
    oral presentation SciDataCon, 1970, Denver, Colorado, USA
  • Ostaszewska K., Trudnowska E., Wichorowski M., Błachowiak-Samołyk K.
    How do the hydrographic conditions determine zooplankton size
    oral presentation ASLO 2016 Summer Meeting, 1970, SantaFe, New Mexico, USA
  • Ostaszewska K., Trudnowska E., Wichorowski M., Błachowiak-Samołyk K.
    Inter-annual variability in abundance and distribution of various zooplankton size fractions in Spitsbergen waters at the Polar Front during five summer seasons
    poster presentation ICES/PICES 6th Zooplankton Production Symposium, 1970, Bergen, Norway
  • Ostaszewska K., Boehnke R., Trudnowska E., Falk-Petersen S., Wichorowski M., Hop H., Błachowiak Samołyk K.
    Estimation of the quality of foraging grounds for planktivorous little auk on West Spitsbergen
    poster presentation 2nd World Seabird Conference , 1970, Cape Town, South Africa
  • Ostaszewska K., Trudnowska E., Wichorowski M., Błachowiak-Samołyk K.
    Interannual distribution of various zooplankton size fractions vs. front position along West Spitsbergen Shelf during five summer seasons (2010-2014)
    oral presentation Interdisciplinary Polar Studies in Svalbard (IPSiS) Meeting, Scientific Conference & Field Workshop, 1970, Longyearbyen & Hornsund, Svalbard
Publications
  • Szczucka J., Trudnowska E., Hoppe L., Błachowiak-Samołyk K.
    Comparison of acoustical to optical zooplankton measurements via an acoustic scattering model: A case study from the Arctic frontal zone, 2016, Polish Polar Research, 37, 67-88
  • Trudnowska E., Gluchowska M., Beszczynska-Möller A., Błachowiak-Samołyk K., Kwasniewski S.
    Plankton patchiness in the Polar Front region of the West Spitsbergen Shelf, 2016, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 560, 1–18
  • Stübner E.I., Søreide J.E., Reigstad M., Marquardt M., Błachowiak-Samołyk K.K.
    Year-round meroplankton dynamics in high-Arctic, Svalbard, 2016, Journal of Plankton Research, 38, 522-536
  • Nigro L.M., Angel M.V., Błachowiak-Samołyk K., Hopcroft R.R., Bucklin A.
    Identification, Discrimination, and Discovery of Species of Marine Planktonic Ostracods Using DNA Barcodes, 2016, PLoS ONE, 11(1), e0146327
  • Wichorowski M., Błachowiak-Samołyk K.
    Aggregation and processing of data originating from heterogeneous sources for multidimensional analyses, 2016, Bollettino di Geofisica Teorica ed Applicata, 57, 106-107
  • Błachowiak-Samołyk K., Wiktor J., Hegseth E.N., Wold A., Falk-Petersen S., Kubiszyn A.
    Winter Tales: the dark side of planktonic life, 2015, Polar Biology, 38, 23-36
  • Stępień A., Błachowiak-Samołyk K. & Angel M.V.
    A re-description of Discoconchoecia elegans (Sars, 1865) (Ostracoda: Halocyprididae) from high latitudes in the North Atlantic, 2015, Zootaxa, 3995, 066–077
  • Trudnowska E., Sagan S., Kwasniewski S., Darecki M., Błachowiak-Samołyk K.
    Fine-scale zooplankton vertical distribution in relation to hydrographic and optical characteristics of the surface waters on the Arctic shelf, 2015, Journal of Plankton Research, 37, 120-133
  • Boehnke R., Głuchowska M., Wojczulanis-Jakubas K., Jakubas D., Karnovsky N.J., Walkusz W., Kwaśniewski S., Błachowiak-Samołyk K.
    Supplementary diet components of the little auk chicks in two contrasting regions on the west Spitsbergen coast, 2015, Polar Biology, 38, 261-267
  • Kidawa D., Jakubas D., Wojczulanis-Jakubas K., Stempniewicz L., Trudnowska E., Boehnke R., Keslinka-Nawrot L., Błachowiak-Samołyk K.
    Parental efforts of an Arctic seabird, the little auk Alle alle, under variable foraging conditions, 2015, Marine Biology Research, 11, 349–360
  • Angel M.V., Błachowiak-Samołyk K.
    Halocyprid ostracods of the Southern Ocean In: De Broyer C., Koubbi P., Griffiths H.J., Raymond B., Udekem d’Acoz C. d’, et al. (eds.), 2014, Biogeographic Atlas of the Southern Ocean. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, , 297-302
  • Trudnowska E., Basedow S.L., Błachowiak-Samołyk K.
    Mid-summer mesozooplankton biomass, its size distribution, and estimated production within a glacial Arctic fjord (Hornsund, Svalbard), 2014, Journal of Marine Systems, 137, 55-66
  • Stempniewicz L., Darecki M., Trudnowska E., Błachowiak-Samołyk K., Boehnke R., Jakubas D., Keslinka-Nawrot L., Kidawa D., Sagan S., Wojczulanis-Jakubas K.
    Visual availability of prey determines distribution of little auks in the shelf waters adjacent to breeding colonies on West Spitsbergen, 2013, Polar Biology, 36, 949-955
  • Jakubas D., Trudnowska E., Wojczulanis-Jakubas K., Iliszko L., Kidawa D., Darecki M., Błachowiak-Samołyk K., Stempniewicz L.
    Foraging closer to the colony leads to faster growth in little auks, 2013, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 489, 263–278
  • Trudnowska E., Szczucka J., Hoppe L., Boehnke R., Hop H., Błachowiak-Samołyk K.
    Multidimensional zooplankton observations on the northern West Spitsbergen Shelf, 2012, Journal of Marine Systems, 98, 18-25
  • Baczewska A., Błachowiak-Samołyk K., Angel M.V.
    Distribution of pelagic Ostracoda inhabiting Svalbard waters (76 36-81 50N), 2011, Hydrobiologia, 688, 5–92
  • Szczucka J., Piwowarczyk J., Błachowiak-Samołyk K., Stempniewicz L.
    How little auks link the ocean with the tundra of Svalbard at a time of changing climate?, 2011, Ocean Challenge, 18, 12-18
  • De Broyer C., Danis B., Allcock L., Angel M., Arango C., Artois T., Barnes D., Bartsch I., Bester M., Błachowiak-Samołyk K., Błażewicz M., Bohn J., Brandt A., Brandao S. N., David B., de Salas M., Eleaume M., Emig C., Fautin D., George K. H., et al.
    How many species in the Southern Ocean? Towards a dynamic inventory of the Antarctic marine species, 2011, Deep Sea Research II, 58, 5–17
  • Kwasniewski S., Gluchowska M., Jakubas D., Wojczulanis-Jakubas K., Walkusz W., Karnovsky N., Błachowiak-Samołyk K., Cisek M., Stempniewicz L.
    The impact of different hydrographic conditions and zooplankton communities on provisioning Little Auks along the West coast of Spitsbergen, 2010, Progress In Oceanography, 87, 72-82
  • Błachowiak-Samołyk K., Søreide J.E., Kwasniewski S., Sundfjord A., Hop H., Falk-Petersen S., Hegseth E.N.
    Hydrodynamic control of mesozooplankton abundance and biomass in northern Svalbard waters (79-81oN), 2008, Deep-Sea Research II, 55, 2310-2324
  • Błachowiak-Samołyk K.,
    Contrasting zooplankton communities in the European Arctic Marginal Ice Zone, 2008, Oceanologia, 50, 363-389
  • Błachowiak-Samołyk K., Kwasniewski S., Hop H., Falk-Petersen S.
    Magnitude of mesozooplankton variability: A case study from the Marginal Ice Zone of the Barents Sea in spring, 2008, Journal of Plankton Research, 30, 311-323
  • Søreide J.E., Falk-Petersen S., Hegseth E.N., Hop H., Carroll M.L., Hobson K.A., Błachowiak-Samołyk K.
    Seasonal feeding strategies of Calanus in the high-Arctic Svalbard region, 2008, Deep-Sea Research II, 55, 2325-2345
  • Angel M.V., Błachowiak-Samołyk K., Drapun I., Castillo R.
    Changes in the composition of planktonic ostracod populations across a range of latitudes in the North-east Atlantic, 2007, Progress in Oceanography, 73, 60-78
  • Błachowiak-Samołyk K., Angel M.V.
    A year round comparative studies on the population structures of pelagic Ostracoda in the Admiralty Bay (Southern Ocean), 2007, Hydrobiologia, 585, 67-77
  • Angel M.V., Błachowiak-Samołyk K.
    Obtusoecia (Myodocopa; Halocyprida) a bipolar genus of planktonic Ostracoda: Taxonomy, bathymetry and zoogeographical distribution, 2006, Annales Zoologici (Warszawa), 56, 197-213
  • Błachowiak-Samołyk K., Kwasniewski S., Richardson K., Dmoch K., Hansen E., Hop H., Falk-Petersen S., Thybo Mouritsen L.
    Arctic zooplankton do not perform diel vertical migration (DVM) during periods of midnight sun, 2006, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 308, 101-116
  • Wesławski J.M., Kwasniewski S., Stempniewicz L., Błachowiak-Samołyk K.
    Biodiversity and energy transfer to top trophic levels in two contrasting Arctic fjords, 2006, Polish Polar Research, 27, 259-278
  • Błachowiak-Samołyk K., Osowiecki A.
    Distribution and population structure of pelagic Ostracoda near the sea-ice edge in the Scotia Sea and the King George Island (December 1988-January 1989), 2002, Polish Polar Research, 23, 135-152
  • Błachowiak-Samołyk K.,
    Comparative studies on population structures of Alacia belgicae and Metaconchoecia isocheira (Ostracoda) in the Croker Passage during various seasons, 2001, Polar Biology, 24, 222-230
  • Kittel W., Sicinski J., Zmijewska M.I., Bielecka L., Błachowiak-Samołyk K.
    Antarctic neritic zooplankton community (Admiralty Bay, King George Island, South Shetland Islands), 2001, Polish Polar Research, 22, 11-33
  • Błachowiak-Samołyk K.,
    Distribution and population structure of pelagic Ostracoda near the Antarctic Peninsula in spring 1986 (BIOMASS III, October-November 1986), 1999, Polish Archives of Hydrobiology, 46, 9-25
  • Zmijewska M.I., Yen J., Bielecka L. and Błachowiak-Samołyk K.
    The effect of sex ratio on the population pattern and abundance of the predominant Antarctic copepods in Croker Passage (Antarctic Peninsula), 1997, Oceanological Studies 1, vol. XXVI, 127-148
  • Błachowiak-Samołyk K., Zmijewska M.I.
    Planktonic Ostracoda (Halocyprididae) in the Croker Passage (Antarctic Peninsula) during two austral seasons: summer 1985/1986 and winter 1989, 1997, Polish Polar Research, 18, 79-89
  • Błachowiak-Samołyk K., Zmijewska M.I.
    Horizontal and vertical distribution of Ostracoda in the Drake Passage and Bransfield Strait (BIOMASS-SIBEX, December 1983-January 1984), 1995, Polish Polar Research, 16, 41-54
  • Błachowiak-Samołyk K., Bielecka L., Zmijewska M.I.
    The influence of environmental factors on the population structure of Chaetognatha in the Atlantic sector of Southern Ocean (BIOMASS-SIBEX, December 1983-January 1984), 1995, Polish Polar Research, 16, 55-66