Project Description
Supervisors
Dr Michael Collins, Plymouth Marine Laboratory – contact me
Dr Manuela Truebano, University of Plymouth
Professor Alex Ford, University of Portsmouth
Professor Mark Fitzsimons, University of Plymouth
Dr Oliver Tills, University of Plymouth and Phenomyx CIC
Dr Luke Holmes, Environment Agency
Scientific Background
Coastal regions face the triple threat of emerging contaminants, heatwaves, and deoxygenation. Current chemical risk assessment substantially underestimates ecological risk because pollutants are evaluated in isolation and at the species-level only, overlooking synergistic stressor interactions and population-level variation in tolerance. As a result, concentrations considered safe under existing frameworks may be harmful when combined with future levels of warming and hypoxia. Without accounting for these interacting pressures and natural population variability, risk assessments may fail to predict population declines, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem disruption.
Research Methodology
This interdisciplinary project aims to develop a multi-level, risk assessment framework to evaluate vulnerability of marine invertebrate populations to emerging pollutants under climate change. By combining transcriptomics with computer vision, AI-powered physiological approaches, and linking responses to fitness outcomes, the project will identify mechanisms underpinning population resilience and sensitivity to multiple stressors. This integrative approach will develop a novel, ecologically-realistic framework for predicting chemical risk thresholds under climate change.
Specifically, this project will:
- Conduct laboratory-multistressor experiments to quantify physiological tipping points in aquatic invertebrate populations exposed to climate-contaminant combinations, integrating responses across scales including cells, whole-organisms via cutting-edge physiological/behavioural analyses from Phenomyx (PCIC), and population fitness.
- Access Environment Agency (EA) datasets, alongside performing analytical chemistry techniques, to characterise habitats and quantify contaminant levels (pharmaceuticals), temperature and oxygen.
- Develop a risk assessment tool by integrating tipping points and environmental pharmaceutical levels to predict population vulnerability under climate change.
Training
This pioneering project offers opportunities to work across academia, industry and regulatory bodies, with training in multi-stressor investigation and bioinformatics (Collins); behavioural ecotoxicology (Ford); thermal biology (Truebano); analytical chemistry (Fitzsimons); phenomics (PCIC); and national chemical risk assessment (EA).
Your supervisory team will help identify your training needs and use dedicated ARIES-DTP funding to support your development. You will be supported to lead manuscripts, present at international conferences, and engage in impact-focused activities.
Person Specification
We seek an enthusiastic individual with a background in marine biology or related fields. Experience with laboratory ecophysiology experiments and/or molecular techniques is desirable. A strong interest in physiology, ecotoxicology and climate change, together with excellent quantitative analysis skills, is essential.
Acceptable first degree subject(s): Minimum 2:1 Bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology or Biology