PhD: Extinction or adaptation: quantifying marine ecosystem responses to ancient climate change

Project overview

Marine ecosystems are under urgent threat from ocean warming, deoxygenation and acidification today. Earth has warmed (and cooled) many times before, with sustained warm periods that resemble worst-case-scenario predictions for modern climate change. In this project you will investigate the impacts of these climate extremes on marine ecosystems.

Project description

In this project you will investigate how marine organisms adapted to past extreme climates and what this might mean for future ocean ecosystems. From observations of modern ecosystems, we predict that many areas of the ocean will become uninhabitable for animals that currently live there. However, when we look at the fossil record of ancient times of extreme warmth (e.g. the Cretaceous Period, 145-66 Ma), we observe that diverse assemblages of marine animals spanned much of the globe. This poses an obvious question – on what timescales and to what extent are different groups of marine animals able to adapt to extreme climates?

To address this research question, you will use a combination of research tools from palaeobiology, oceanography and marine biology. Specific approaches may include:

- Integrating fossil occurrence records with 3D oceanographic models of ancient oceans
- Applying physiological, ecological, and evolutionary theory to model environmental tolerances of ancient marine animal groups and their stability through time
- Developing ecophysiological modelling approaches based on modern experimental, biogeographic, and oceanographic observations
- Generating Earth system model simulations of ancient climates

The balance of these research methods will depend on your evolving research interests as you progress through your PhD. For this project you will need an enthusiasm to learn new quantitative methods, but that does not mean you need to be an experienced computer programmer already. You will finish this PhD with training in data science and numerical modelling, as well as palaeobiology, ecophysiology, global change biology and climate science.

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 SOES. Specific training will include:

- Earth system modelling and analysis (cGENIE Earth system model, as well as potentially fully coupled models such as HADCM3L and/or CESM)
- Data science/statistical learning
- Computer programming in R (and/or python/MATLAB/Julia as preferred or required)
- Quantitative palaeobiology
- Physiological, ecological and evolutionary modelling
- Analysis of modern climate and oceanographic datasets
- Scientific communication through peer-reviewed journal articles, science outreach and presentations at domestic and international conferences