Functional traits and the resilience of deep-sea ecosystems to environmental and human–induced change

Supervisors: Dr Julia Blanchard, Dr Andrew Beckerman
*CASE supervisor: Dr Francis Neat - Marine Scotland-Science, Aberdeen,
Research collaborator: Dr Clive Trueman - National Oceanography Centre Southampton

Keywords: biodiversity, community ecology, climate change, fisheries, marine ecology

Deep sea ecosystems are becoming increasingly impacted by human activities but very little is known about how they work and how much exploitation they can sustain. Deep-sea fish species are often characterised as slow growing and long-lived, making them vulnerable to fishing and environmental pressures. They also exhibit bizarre morphological and behavioural traits – traits that may be very important for community structure and resilience. The core questions of this PhD are:

1. How are traits such as body size, morphology, metabolic rate, and foraging depth distributed in deep-sea communities and how do they vary across environmental gradients of depth, temperature and food availability?
2. How do these traits affect the structure of fish communities?
3. How do these traits affect community resilience to environmental and human-induced perturbations?

The project will make use of extensive databases obtained from ship-based research surveys and oceanographic data from the Northeast Atlantic, which will be used to establish trait distributions along environmental gradients. Trait-based models will be developed and applied to generate testable predictions about community structure and the impact of human and environmental pressures. The research will greatly advance our understanding of the biological diversity, function and resilience of deep-sea ecosystems that is crucially needed to support effective ecosystem-based management.

This project would suit an enthusiastic student with interest and some experience in quantitative methods and modeling. It is an exciting training and research opportunity linking quantitative ecologists, fisheries scientists and oceanographers. There may be also opportunities to receive training in ship-based fieldwork.

For more information about how to apply, or the application process, please contact Mrs S Carter (s.a.carter@sheffield.ac.uk).

To apply now go to: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/online