Coastal protection measures are increasingly required as coastal zones are under stress of climate change (sea level rise, intensification of storms, increasing beach erosion, etc.) and under increasing anthropogenic pressure (demographic evolution, loss of habitats, economic expansion, etc.). This combination threatens coastal ecosystems and significantly reduces their resilience.
Ecosystem engineers can play an important role in coastal protection by dissipating energy from waves and currents while supporting a wide array of important ecosystem services. One of the most productive marine ecosystems are seagrass meadows. Seagrasses grow on every continent except Antarctica and fulfill countless functions in their ecosystem: providing shelter and nurseries to marine animals, supporting fisheries, attenuating waves and currents, and mitigating the effects of climate change by sequestering CO2.
In this project, we aim to develop an innovative, resilient, coastal protection system with a dual purpose: protecting the coastlines and provide long-lasting ecosystem services. To do so, we target the early stages of seagrass plant development through innovative bio-technologies and breakthrough incubation tests. The student will actively participate in the research activities, and contribute to: setting up (lab) experiments, monitoring them, and analysing the results. Amongst these activities, we foresee: seed multiplication and enhanced rooting experiments, analysis of field samples of fauna and flora associated with seagrass beds, data analysis and assistance in the preparation of technical reports. If traveling restriction allows assistance in fieldwork in The Netherlands will be probable. With this internship, we would like to offer an interesting and engaging experience for an early career scientist, in order to be trained in a broad range of scientific skills.