PLEASE NOTE: Application deadline date 08 Jan 2024. Applications are no longer being accepted for this project
Project Overview
UK coastal habitats such as seagrasses or tidal marshes provide critical ecosystem services for human well-being and biodiversity. This project will be carried out in collaboration with Natural England to quantify the multiple impacts of climate change, human activities, and biological interactions on these habitats to support their protection, sustainable management, and restoration.
Project Description
Coastal habitats such as seagrasses and tidal marshes are increasingly recognized for their essential carbon capture capabilities, their ability to attenuate storm surges and accommodate flooding [1]. Whilst efforts are being made to restore these vital habitats significant gaps in understanding the cumulative impacts of climate-driven changes, environmental forcing (e.g., flow dynamics) and biological interactions remain.
The aim of this projects is to better understand the impacts of multiple stressors on UK coastal habitats, which is vital given their potential to provide more sustainable and resilient long-term solutions to coastal protection and biodiversity. This project will be carried out in collaboration with Natural England to ensure that outcomes are meaningful and applicable to support decision making on the sustainable management and restoration of these vital habitats.
Specifically, this project will 1) determine how coastal habitats (seagrasses and/or tidal marshes) respond to multiple abiotic drivers (climate warming, ocean acidification, current speed, and flow conditions) and biotic interactions (grazer dynamics, faunal sediment reworking) and 2) assess the implications for supporting nature-based solution strategies and the enhancement of coastal adaptation plans.
Using our experimental laboratory facilities and well-established protocols, experiments will be conducted under different environmental (e.g. different warming, acidification and/or flow scenarios) and biological contexts (incl. changes in faunal community composition) to determine how these interact to affect the morphology and structure of seagrass or tidal marsh species at various life-stages, which could have significant implications for the long-term restoration potential of these important UK habitats.
The INSPIRE DTP programme provides comprehensive personal and professional development training alongside extensive opportunities for students to expand their multi-disciplinary outlook through interactions with a wide network of academic, research and industrial/policy partners. The student will be registered at the University of Southampton and hosted at the School of Ocean and Earth Science. Specific training will
include:
- laboratory-and field-based experimental skills in marine ecology, which include setting laboratory experiments using our state-of-the art facilities and conducting field surveys
- experimental design and spatio-temporal data analysis techniques using the R-programming environment,
- use of technologies capable of non-invasive quantification of structures, including high-resolution computed tomography, aerial drones and lidar, acoustics and ground penetrating radar
- numerical modelling of flow dynamics
- image analysis to quantify species behaviour and changes in plant structure using ImageJ and Photoshop
Solan et al. (2020) Benthic-based contributions to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Phil Trans Roy Soc B 375: 20190107
De Los Santos et al. (2017) Short-term growth and biomechanical responses of the temperate seagrass Cymodocea nodosa to CO2 enrichment. Mar Ecol Progr Ser 572: 91-102
Lazarus et al. (2016) An evolving research agenda for human–coastal systems. Geomorphology 256: 81–90
