PhD Studentship: Predicting marine biodiversity heatwave vulnerability at management relevant scales: A novel approach for adaptive conservation

Lead Supervisor (DoS): Dr Manuela Truebano

Second Supervisor: Professor Michael Burrows

Third Supervisor: Dr Oliver Tills

Fourth Supervisor: Professor Pippa Moore

Fifth Supervisor: Dr Fernando Lima

Sixth Supervisor: Dr Hannah Wood

Applications are invited for three 3.5 year PhD studentships with the Marine Institute at the University of Plymouth.

The studentships are due to start on 1^st October 2025.

This project is one of nine topics being considered for an anticipated three studentships. Six topics are inviting candidates from open recruitment, with the remaining three following a different route to interview. The studentships will be allocated to the best combinations of candidate and project as they emerge from the interviews across all topics.

Project Description

Heatwaves are becoming frequent and severe, with devastating consequences for human health, economies, and ecosystems. Recent record-breaking global temperatures and multiple regional heatwaves across the globe highlight the urgent need to predict the vulnerability of natural populations to heatwaves. This vulnerability is determined by the level of heat challenge, and crucially, but overlooked, the physiological sensitivity of the organisms constituting a population. These determinants vary significantly locally due to microclimates, microhabitats, and local adaptation. Yet, they are not factored into predicting heatwave impacts, identifying high- and low-risk areas, or ultimately determining conservation strategies. Fine-scale data at the regional level, and spatially explicit models to identify vulnerable areas will be paramount in ensuring the persistence of species by protecting thermal refugia and mitigating ecological traps.

This transformative studentship will pioneer approaches to predicting the impact of heatwaves on biodiversity at regional scales, identifying critical areas for conservation of rocky shore communities, using the diversity of sites across the Southwest of the UK as a model. In so doing, it will help support adaptive management of our shorelines.

Automated (imaging and computer vision) laboratory physiological tolerance screening of different populations of intertidal species will inform physiological sensitivity models. A network of temperature loggers in the Southwest of the UK will provide high-resolution population-specific temperature data, enabling simulation of heatwaves at local scales. Physiological, ecological and temperature data will be integrated via novel modelling approaches to predict mortality of intertidal species and associated changes in communities during heatwaves at different locations, to assess site-specific vulnerability at regional scales. Through an internship with Natural England, the candidate will learn what is needed to convert research outputs into policy and into a transferrable framework and methodology for application to different regions and ecosystems.

Join a multi-disciplinary team and receive training in:

• Marine ecophysiology, animal husbandry (Truebano)
• Climate change ecology (Moore)
• Modelling (Burrows)
• Analysis of high-resolution temperature data and biogeography (Lima)
• Automated technologies and AI (Tills)
• Policy (Woods)
• Data analysis, critical thinking, scientific writing.

If you wish to discuss this project further informally, please contact Dr Manuela Truebano.

For further information on Eligibility and Funding, please click on the links below: 

• Eligibility
• Funding

To apply for this position please click on the Apply button above.  

Please clearly state the name of the DoS and the studentship that you are applying for at the top of your personal statement. 

The closing date for applications is 12 noon on Monday 3^rd February 2025.

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