Justine Pagnier will study biodiversity for marine protected areas
Justine Pagnier is a new PhD student at the Department of Marine Sciences, where she will use modelling and genetic data to focus on monitoring marine biodiversity and detecting non-indigenous species for marine protected areas. She is also a trained ecopsychologist!
What will you be working on here?
"My PhD project focuses on marine biodiversity monitoring and non-indigenous species (NIS) detection using modelling and genetic data. My goal is to understand current marine ecological patterns in order to predict future dynamics—informing Marine Protected Area (MPA) design and other conservation strategies. MPAs’ effectiveness depends on complex socio-environmental and biological factors, and is not always guaranteed. Understanding these processes is crucial to ensure that MPAs meet their conservation goals without causing unintended ecological consequences."
"By combining machine learning, deep learning, and large-scale ecological data—spanning genomics, species distributions, and environmental factors—I will model alien species’ habitat suitability, biodiversity hotspots, and genetic connectivity under present and future scenarios."
"This work is part of several international projects, including EMO-BON (led by the European Marine Biological Resource Center) and the European Digital Twins of the Ocean (EuDTO), which is very exciting!"
What did you do before?
"I did my Bachelor's degree in Grenoble (France) in General Biology, during which I got to spend one year in Gothenburg as an Erasmus student. I then decided to move to Lund to do a Masters in Conservation Biology. For my thesis, I went to Lisbon (Portugal) to study the effectiveness of a small, recently established Marine Protected Area (Avencas). I had known for some time that I wanted to work in marine biology. During that time, I learned how to identify more than a hundred intertidal species, and I also started to actually have fun with statistics!"
"After graduating, I worked in a natural reserve on the coast of Brittany (France), where I spent months on the beach monitoring marine birds, algae, seals, and coastal plants. Eventually, I started to miss Sweden, so in 2022 I came back for a position as research assistant in the same team I am now a doctoral student.
What do you do when you are not working?
"I enjoy spending time in nature—hiking, swimming, or bouldering. I also love crafting, especially drawing with charcoal, but also knitting, embroidery, and watercolour. I'm often involved in a few different associations for volunteering and meeting new people!"
Anything else you would like to share?
"I'm also a trained ecopsychologist, which is the study of the emotional bond between humans and the Earth. It is a field that's still not very well known... So I am always happy to talk about it!"