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PhD project

Investigating the ecosystem functioning of shallow Caribbean bays, and predicting their response to climate change.

With monitoring and community surveys we are developing an understanding of the very dynamic present-day conditions of shallow Caribbean bays. 

In situ experiments are used to investigate the ecosystem services provided by the communities in tropical shallow bays, allowing us to understand how these ecosystems function and persist. 

This work is part of the SCENES project (Stability of Caribbean coastal ecosystems under future extreme sea level changes). With partners in TUDelft and Utrecht University, we will combine our understanding of the ecosystem functioning with future climate scenarios to predict the future of Caribbean bays. 

Publication list

James, R.K.; Silva, R.; van Tussenbroek, B.I.; Escudero-Castillo, M.; Mariño-Tapia, I.; Dijkstra, H.A.; van Westen, R.M.; Pietrzak, J.D.; Candy, A.S.; Katsman, C.A.; van der Boog, C.G.; Riva, R.E.M.; Slobbe, C.; Klees, R.; Stapel, J.; van der Heide, T.; van Katwijk, M.M.; Herman, P.M.J.; Bouma, T.J. (2019). Maintaining tropical beaches with seagrass and algae: a promising alternative to engineering solutions. BioScience. biy154, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biy154

James RK, Hepburn CD, Cornwall CE, McGraw CM and Hurd CL (2014). Growth response of an early successional assemblage of coralline algae and benthic diatoms to ocean acidification. Marine Biology 161:1687-1696

Past research

MSc: Carbon-use of temperate seaweed communities, and their response to ocean acidification - University of Otago, New Zealand