The Tetraclita rubescens barnacle is being impacted by tropicalisation ©SunflowerMomma/Shutterstock
Project overview
Tropical predators are becoming established within temperate communities as a response to climate warming (tropicalisation), but with unknown consequences.
This project will use an interdisciplinary approach to understand the eco-evolutionary impacts of altered predator-prey interactions of marine species and communities undergoing tropicalisation while helping to inform management strategies.
Project description
Predation is a primary driver of how species function and evolve over space and time.
With modern climate change, however, voracious predators from tropical marine regions are becoming established within temperate communities (part of a phenomenon known as ‘tropicalisation’).
Yet the eco-evolutionary impacts of tropical predators preying on temperate species have not been studied empirically, leaving us with only theoretical predictions as a rough guide. The aim of this PhD is to provide a broad understanding the eco-evolutionary consequences of altered predator-prey interactions under modern tropicalisation.
The project will focus on the rocky shore of the Baja peninsula (Mexico). Here, multiple tropical gastropod (snails) predators have established populations in temperate communities. The student will conduct ecological studies at local and regional scales (eg photo-quadrat monitoring, biodiversity surveys, predator-exclusion experiments) to establish whether tropical predators are having negative impacts on the ecology and life history temperate prey.
Analysis of museum specimens and literature will be used to test whether tropical predators have different functional and morphological traits compared to temperate predators.
The project will also test hypotheses on potential co-evolutionary adaptations to tropicalisation using a recently established study system where a temperate barnacle and tropical snail predator both alter their morphologies where they co-occur.
Genomic and morphological analyses will be conducted to test whether these are phenotypically plastic responses or an evolutionary adaptation. The results of this project will be highly impactful and serve as a valuable case study on a growing issue in marine conservation biology, the impacts of tropicalisation.
Training
Our programme provides comprehensive personal and professional development training alongside extensive opportunities for students to expand their multi-disciplinary outlook through interactions with a wide network of academic, research and industrial/policy partners. The student will be registered at the University of Southampton and hosted at the University of Southampton.
Specific training will include:
- Field sampling and analysis of rocky shore communities and environmental variables across the study region.
- Laboratory experimental design and data analysis.
- Biogeographic analysis of species distributions from field and museum collected datasets.
- DNA metabarcoding and genomic sequencing of field collected specimens.
- Collection and analysis of museum specimens, including CT/SEM scanning, digitization of specimens, and curation.
- Meta-analysis of the literature.
There is also the possibility of using Computer Vision methods to analyse morphological traits associated with both tropical predators and temperate prey species across a large spatial gradient.
Entry requirements
A UK bachelor’s degree with upper second-class honours or higher in a relevant subject. See international equivalent qualifications on our website.
English language: IELTS 6.5 overall, with a minimum of 6.0 in all components. We accept other English language tests.
Further reading
Fenberg, P.B., Beas‐Luna, R., Igić, B., MacLean, M.A., Paz‐García, D.A., Raimondi, P.T., Sones, J.L., Zarzyczny, K.M. and Sanford, E., 2023. Predator‐induced defences under tropicalisation: A biogeographic approach. Journal of Biogeography, 50(12), pp.2148-2159.
Zarzyczny, K.M., Rius, M., Williams, S.T. and Fenberg, P.B., 2023. The ecological and evolutionary consequences of tropicalisation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 39(3), pp.267-279.
Zarzyczny, K.M., Hellberg, M.E., Lugli, E.B., MacLean, M., Paz‐García, D.A., Rius, M., Ross, E.G., Treviño Balandra, E.X., Vanstone, J., Williams, S.T. and Fenberg, P.B., 2024. Opposing genetic patterns of range shifting temperate and tropical gastropods in an area undergoing tropicalisation. Journal of Biogeography, 51(2), pp.246-262.
Application details
Deadline to apply: Wednesday 8 January 2025
Please enter the project title and lead supervisor’s name in Section 2 to state which project you would like to apply for.
It is essential for overseas applicants to contact the lead supervisor to discuss the project before applying.
Applications should include
- A CV providing details of your academic record and stating your research interests.
- Name of two current academic referees, together with institutional email addresses in the Reference section of the application form. On submission of your online application, your referees will be automatically emailed requesting they send a reference to us directly by email.
- Your academic transcript and degree certificate (in English). If you have completed both a BSc and an MSc, then we require both.
- IELTS/TOEFL certificate, if applicable. For more information, please see the University of Southampton's English Language Proficiency page.
Please remember to include a short statement of your research interests and rationale for your choice of project(s) in the Personal Statement section of the application form.
Please ensure that you provide all required documentation and information so that your application can be reviewed and processed.
Lead supervisor
University of Southampton
Co-Supervisor
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