A central question at the forefront of ecology is how climate change will alter the structure and function of ecological systems.

1. Summary of the project
2. Eligibility criteria
3. Readings
4. Contact the research team leader
   
5. How to apply
6. Scholarships

Summary of the project

Extreme climatic events are predicted to become more frequent and severe, causing rapid ecosystem change, the scale of which is likely to be greater than that caused by a gradually changing climate. These extreme events can act as strong and acute agents of selection, generating widespread mortality and collapse of ecosystem services. Understanding how marine ecosystems respond to change will be a critical component of their management in the future. Shark Bay is a World Heritage Area with some of the largest seagrass meadows in the world. These meadows have high ecological, economic, and social values, supporting abundant and diverse animal communities, including commercially harvested species. However, the large meadows formed by temperate seagrass species are directly threatened by climate change, underlined by large-scale seagrass dieback following a marine heatwave event in 2011.

This project takes an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates whole plant growth, physiology and gene expression responses to explore interactions of multiple stressors to extreme events under predicted climate change scenarios. The PhD applicant will investigate gene expression in Posidonia australis through a series of in situ transplant trials and ex situ mesocosm (short and long term) experiments to test the response of seagrass genotypes from different environments to synergistic climate change stressors.

This is an ARC funded Discovery project. The two PhD researchers will be expected to align with the main goals of the project, as well as actively contribute to the broader research goals of the Seagrass Research group. However, there is some scope for additional funds to be sought by the student for related research.

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Eligibility criteria

Requirements specific to this project include:

• Background in at least one of the following areas: marine ecology, and/or molecular ecology, genomics, gene expression, bioinformatics
• Good understanding of statistical methods, programming in R
• Diving (Scientific diver) qualifications preferred

Readings

• Brook BW, Sodhi NS, Bradshaw CJA (2008) . Synergies among extinction drivers under global change. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 23, 453-460.
• Marin-Guirao L, Ruiz JM, Dattolo E, Garcia-Munoz R, Procaccini G (2016). Physiological and molecular evidence of differential short-term heat tolerance in Mediterranean seagrasses. Scientific Reports 6, 28615.
• Thomson JA, Burkholder DA, Heithaus MR, Fourqurean JW, Fraser MW, Statton J, Kendrick GA (2015). Extreme temperatures, foundation species, and abrupt ecosystem change: an example from an iconic seagrass ecosystem. Global Change Biology 21, 1463-1474.
• Malandrakis E, Dadali O, Kavouras M, et al. (2017). Identification of the abiotic stress-related transcription in little Neptune grass Cymodocea nodosa with RNA-seq. Marine Genomics 34, 47-56.

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Contact the research team leader

Once you have ensured that you meet the eligibility criteria and are ready to discuss a proposal, contact the research team leader to identify a potential supervisor.

Research team leader: Dr Elizabeth Sinclair

I am a senior research fellow in the School of Biological Sciences and Oceans Institute working on seagrass genetics and genomics. The focus of ongoing seagrass research has been to understand genetic structure and connectivity in the wide ranging Posidonia, with a recent focus on understanding thresholds to marine environmental stressors through taking a whole plant approach ? understanding physiological and genomic responses. I serve on the Australian Marine Science Association WA board.

This project will be co-supervised by Professor Gary Kendrick at the School of Biological Sciences.

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How to apply

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Scholarships

Scholarships specific to this project

Keiran McNamara World Heritage Top-Up Scholarship

• $25,000 per annum value
• Top-up stipend $10,000 per annum
• An allowance of $15,000 per annum for research expenses, including research related travel

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