Oyster reefs, once abundant along the east Australian coastline and an important source of food and trade for Indigenous Australians, are now functionally extinct (<1% remaining) because of years of over harvesting, habitat modification, pollution, sedimentation and disease.
We're seeking a highly motivated PhD student to join a research program focused on understanding the role sediment microbes play in the functioning and resilience of seagrasses in estuarine ecosystems.
Human activities have degraded extensive areas of coastal habitats. Abiotic and biotic stressors (e.g. temperature, artificial light, invasive species and noise) may interact to produce combined impacts on biodiversity, physiological responses (e.g. reproduction and growth) and ecosystem functioning.
It is proposed that with increases in anthropogenic stressors of coastal systems (pollution/ climate change) there comes an increase in the prevalence of disease caused by opportunistic pathogens.