"Many animals live in symbiosis with algae. As the algae photosynthesise, this form of symbiosis is known as photosymbiosis. Almost all photosymbioses occur in the sea and are particularly familiar to us from corals," explains Christa. Photosymbioses are a particular advantage for the animals, as the algae provide them with nutrients that they would otherwise not receive in their nutrient-poor habitat. "The algae, on the other hand, are protected by the animals and at the same time supplied with 'waste products' that are important for photosynthesis. So it's a win-win situation." The type and duration of the photosymbiosis varies, as does the amount of nutrients that are exchanged. "Some animals live together with the algae for their entire lives, others only for a few days. In our research, we are focussing on two specific systems of photosymbiosis in snails in order to expand our fundamental understanding of these photosymbioses," says Christa.

The 42-year-old studied biology at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in Bonn. He completed his doctorate at the Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig and then worked there as a research assistant. This was followed by postdoctoral positions at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and the Centre for Marine and Environmental Sciences (CESAM) at the University of Aveiro in Portugal. In 2019, he came to Wuppertal, where he worked as a research assistant and lecturer at the Institute of Zoology and Didactics of Biology under Prof Dr Angelika Preisfeld. He has held the professorship he now holds since 2022.