Effects of climate change on habitat-forming seaweeds
This is a suggestion for a Degree Project for Bachelor's and Master's levels at the Department of Marine Sciences. Degree projects at the Department of Marine Sciences are done independently and must be written and assessed individually.
Subject: Marine Biology
Level: BSc and MSc students
Start date: Flexible
Supervisor: Alexandra Kinnby
Project background
Climate change is among the most powerful impacts that species are facing today, and their responses to this stress vary in complex ways that are challenging to predict. The stress of climate change is most often felt through changes in temperature, salinity, or pH. The Swedish coastline is experiencing a greater rate of change than the global average, making it both more vulnerable to climate change but also an ideal study site to predict the effects of climate change around the world.
In this project, we will address this knowledge gap by directly measuring the effects of climate change on the physiology and interactions of key, habitat-forming seaweeds. We will design and carry out experiments using different species and populations to investigate how the current and coming changes may affect ecosystems.
Project Description
The goal of this project is to assess the effects of climate change on key, habitat forming species. To do this we will design discrete experiments where we will sample individuals in the field, bring them to the lab, and assess them as they are exposed to changes in one or more of the key climate change environmental stressors: salinity, temperature, or pH. We will measure direct physiological variables such as growth and chemical composition, but also proxy variables such as PAM with provides information about the photosynthetic status of the seaweeds.
As a student in this project, we will together select a (or several) species and variable(s) for a specific experiment. You will be directly involved in field sampling, experimental design, carrying out the experiment, and analyzing the results. There are also opportunities for multiple students to work simultaneously, for example by focussing on different species but collaborating to control the experimental set-up and field work.
Experiments will take place at Tjärnö Marine Laboratory. This project includes field work, experimental work, as well as lab work and can be focussed on either early life stages or adults.
Contact
Alexandra Kinnby,
Researcher
Email: alexandra.kinnby@marine.gu.se