PhD Studentship: Assessing the Risk of Consumer Plastics to Marine Ecosystem Services - NERC GW4+ DTP PhD studentship for September 2025 Entry Ref: 5435

About the Partnership

This project is one of a number that are in competition for funding from the NERC Great Western Four+ Doctoral Training Partnership (GW4+ DTP).  The GW4+ DTP consists of the Great Western Four alliance of the University of Bath, University of Bristol, Cardiff University and the University of Exeter plus five Research Organisation partners:  British Antarctic Survey, British Geological Survey, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology,  the Natural History Museum and Plymouth Marine Laboratory.  The partnership aims to provide a broad training in earth and environmental sciences, designed to train tomorrow’s leaders in earth and environmental science. For further details about the programme please see http://nercgw4plus.ac.uk/

Project details

For information relating to the research project please contact the lead Supervisor via sga@pml.ac.uk

Project Aims and Methods

Plastic leakage into the marine environment is a threat to biodiversity and ecosystem services (the benefits derived from nature), yet our current understanding of the risks of plastic products pose is limited. If we are to provide the evidence necessary to improve product sustainability, these risks should be assessed. This may be particularly imperative for consumer plastics given their commonality within the natural environment. In the UK 116 plastic items were found per 100m of beach with consumer plastics the most common items, whilst in Bali, Indonesia over 25 consumer plastics were found per 100m of coral reef. 
This PhD aims to identify and assess the risk of consumer plastics to marine ecosystem services. The student will begin by reviewing literature using a systematic approach to collate a broad range of evidence on the impact of these common debris items and highlighting evidence gaps; these environmental implications can then be translated into ecosystem impacts, with the student able to focus on one or several key ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, food provision, lifecycle maintenance or recreation. The student will then have the opportunity to co-develop research, utilising translation methodologies such as risk assessment, expert elicitation or experimental work. 

Training

The DTP offers funding to undertake specialist training relating to the student’s specialist area of research. 

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