A general theme emerging in marine environmental management is a requirement for more proactivity. There is a recognition that interactions across trophic levels need to be quantified, to streamline management and ultimately improve ecosystem service provision. This more holistic focus is fundamental to an ecosystems-based approach for environmental management.
Under such a framework, apex predators would be considered as more than discrete conservation objectives. Rather, maintaining and promoting their interactive effects through food webs becomes a conservation objective. These interactions between trophic levels require both appreciation and measurement in order to understand their contribution to wider ecosystem service provisioning. These ecosystems services can include supporting the recovery of degraded ecosystems, facilitating greater carbon sequestration and increased fisheries yield. Examples of how interactions across trophic layers is crucial to ecosystem structuring can be observed with the sea otter, urchin and kelp model. This is even more dramatically observed with the Yellowstone wolf reintroduction project. Here, a small number of apex predators restructured an ecosystem through largely non-consumptive effects, increasing productivity and biodiversity.
Our project will demonstrate the adage that ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ – fear induced suppression of mesopredator foraging by the presence of apex predators can support increased productivity (and associated biodiversity) in biogenic reef forming species. This project will investigate the linkages between marine predators and ecosystem service provision within the context of the North East Atlantic coastal environment.
The aim of this project is to quantify the interactive effects of marine predators across trophic levels and link this to ecosystem service provisioning.
The objectives will include modelling interactions across multi-trophic level scenarios. These scenarios will include skate-crustacean-biogenic reef and sunstar-starfish-biogenic reef-based experiments. These will be carried out using the QUB Portaferry Marine Laboratory outdoor-mesocosm facilities. There is potential to scale up experiments using large outdoor seawater ponds (in collaboration with the Loughs Agency).
The student will engage with local fisheries bodies (SeaFish) to identify appropriate multi-trophic models which will have relevance and potential benefits for the local fishing and mariculture industry. An example would be using known predators (e.g. Crossaster papposus) to control pest populations of Asterias rubens on blue mussel beds (Mytilus edulis).
The student will also engage with local bodies concerned with environmental management (e.g. DAERA, Ulster Wildlife Trust) to demonstrate and highlight the ecosystem restorative potential of apex predators. This will provide quantitative support for active predator conservation (e.g. skates and sharks). Here the student could test and measure the non-consumptive effects of elasmobranchs (thornback skate and catshark) on shore crab (Carcinus maenas) foraging on horse mussel reef (Modiolus modiolus).
The student will also have the capacity to carry out physiological measurements of predator induced stress responses using photophlesmography (non-invasive infra-red probes).
Candidate requirements:
Applicants should hold a minimum of an Honours Degree at 2:1 level or equivalent in subjects such as Marine Biology, Environmental Science, Ecology, or Zoology. Applicants with Masters degrees, relevant research experience, or publications will be highly competitive. Exposure to statistical analyses, field sampling and some marine animal husbandry experience desirable.
How to apply:
All applications must be submitted via the Queen's Direct Applications Portal: https://dap.qub.ac.uk/portal/user/u_login.php
Continue with Facebook
