Nadjejda Espinel Velasco will dive into the reproduction of corals
The coral group at the Department of Marine Sciences has received reinforcements. Nadjejda Espinel Velasco recently arrived from Tromsö, and has a passion for the early life stages of corals and other benthic invertebrates in the sea.
What are you going to do here?
"I recently joined the Departments´ coral group at Tjärnö marine laboratory. I will be working with the cold water coral Lophelia pertusa as part of the "RestoreSeas" project. Here, I will focus on sexual and asexual reproduction of these corals. In particular, I will investigate which variables control larval settlement, and whether there are any specific cues to induce it. Moreover, I will run fragmentation assays to induce asexual reproduction in vitro, and investigate which factors control it."
What did you do before?
"I am a marine eco-physiologist with interest on the organismal responses to environmental drivers. Before joining the University of Gothenburg, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Norwegian Polar Institute and the Arctic University of Norway (UiT), both in Tromsø, Norway. During that time, my research focused on understanding the responses of Arctic marine zooplankton to changing environmental stressors such as ocean acidification and warming, through experimental investigations and metabolic measurements."
"Previously to moving to Norway, I lived in New Zealand where I did my PhD, which focussed on the effects of ocean acidification on the larval settlement of benthic marine invertebrates."
What do you like do when you are not working?
"I like spending time with my family, whether it is outdoors - "på tur" - or at home gardening."
Something else you want to share?
"Since my start here at Tjärnö laboratory I have felt very welcomed and at home, and I am looking forward to get to know the rest of the colleagues I haven’t met yet. Regarding work, I look forward to start working with everybody at the coral group and dive into the project - early life stages of marine invertebrates are my passion!"
Interview: Susanne Liljenström