PhD-position: Omega-production and transfer in upwelling systems

PhD-position:
Omega-3 production and transfer in upwelling systems

NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research is the National Oceanographic Institution of the Netherlands.

The Department of Coastal Systems (principal investigator dr. Eleonora Puccinelli ) at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ) is looking for a highly motivated PhD student to join our research on omega-3 in plankton communities in upwelling systems. This PhD is funded under the Vidi grant of Eleonora Puccinelli “Upwelling systems as hotspots of omega-3 in the ocean: production, transfer and food quality”.

The student while employed and based at NIOZ-Texel, will be registered at the University of Utrecht.

THE INSTITUTE

NWO-NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research is the Dutch national oceanographic institute and principally performs academically excellent multidisciplinary, fundamental, and frontier applied marine research addressing important scientific and societal questions pertinent to the functioning of the ocean and seas. NIOZ includes the National Marine research Facilities (NMF) department that operates a fleet of research vessels and the national pool of large seagoing equipment, and supports excellence in multidisciplinary marine research, education, and policy development.

THE DEPARTMENT

The COS department is one of the four research departments of NIOZ. COS integrates state-of-the art laboratory, field, and modelling studies in the dynamics of marine species and food webs. COS examines how physical, chemical, and biological processes interact to determine the distribution, composition, and productivity of marine species across the food web, in marine habitats from the coast to pelagic environments.

THE PROJECT

Upwelling systems are the most productive regions in the ocean, supporting fisheries that provide food for human consumption that is especially high in omega-3 content. Omega-3 are vital fatty acids produced by phytoplankton—tiny organisms at the base of the marine food‑web—that are essential for all animals’ health, yet for most species impossible to produce. The amount of omega-3 that reaches higher trophic levels, depends on how efficiently omega-3 are transferred through the food chain.

Upwelling events bring nutrient rich deep-water to the surface, promoting phytoplankton production through communities dominated by known producers of omega-3. As such, these areas could represent hot‑spots of omega-3 production. Seawater temperature, the frequency and intensity of upwelling events, and nutrient availability influence phytoplankton productivity and could thus affect omega-3 production and transfer efficiency to consumers.

YOUR ROLE

This PhD focuses on estimating omega-3 production rates and transfer efficiency from phytoplankton to zooplankton in upwelling systems. To achieve this goal, the student will combine state-of-the-art techniques and novel approaches to both field, experimental and laboratory studies, from research cruises and onboard experiments, focusing on phytoplankton and zooplankton communities in the Benguela and Canary upwelling systems, two of the world’s most productive upwelling systems.

The student will take part in three 1‑month research cruises in the study regions, where the samples for the PhD will be collected and where a range of experiments will be performed to investigate omega‑3 production and transfer efficiency rates and how they are affected by environmental change (e.g., temperature, nutrient availability). Samples will then be analyzed at NIOZ for several analyses including stable isotope, fatty acid and flow cytometry.

You will present the data from the field and experiments within the departments, and at (international) scientific conferences. You will prepare scientific articles and publish your results in international scientific journals. Lastly, you aim to complete the PhD thesis within the official appointment duration of four years.

You will be supervised by a team of scientists from the NIOZ and the University of Utrecht. Training and courses during the PhD trajectory will be offered by NIOZ, and via the Utrecht Graduate School of Life…