Resolving the threat of ocean deoxygenation to reef resilience

This project aims to uncover the role low oxygen plays in shaping healthy corals over space and time. Climate change and land use development are rapidly deoxygenating shallow water coral reefs, yet we have no knowledge of how less oxygen availability affects critical life history factors that govern coral resilience: growth, reproduction, and stress tolerance. This project aims to couple advanced oxygen sensing, metabolic physiology, omics, coral reproductive and stress biology to transform our understanding of oxygen thresholds that are diagnostic of reduced coral competitive fitness across life stages (adults, juveniles, larvae), needed to improve coral reef ecosystem management.

Applicants must be either permanent Australian residents or New Zealand citizens. To be eligible for this application, you must hold the following or equivalent degree:

Potential applicants must possess:

Applicants should send their CV and a ½ page expression of interest to Dr Emma Camp before the closing date. Shortlisted candidates will be advised with further details.

Please contact Dr. Emma Camp for further information.

This project will be hosted within the Future Reefs Team (FRT), within the Climate Change Cluster (C3) at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). The FRT unites coral ecophysiologists, molecular scientists, biologists, and analytical chemists to study how environmental change shapes coral fitness and survival. The Team's research ranges from organism scale molecular signatures to broad scale ecological interactions and specialise in advancing technical solutions to support innovative scientific capacity. The outcomes directly inform how reefs will look and function into the future, but also how to better preserve and re-build "healthy reefs". C3 is one of the UTS “research strength” institutes and currently hosts 90 researchers, providing a vibrant environment and a comprehensive suite of field and laboratory-based analytical equipment and research infrastructure that will be available to the successful candidate throughout this project.

The successful candidate will be awarded $32,500 per year (RTP Stipend rate, indexed annually); additional funds ($7.5k) during the course of the PhD for travel and other PhD-related expenses.

3.5 years.

Open

Open.

10/02/2023

31/03/2023