Food web structure and functioning of a subpolar fjord on the West Antarctic Peninsula – Insights from a data-rich food web model

This is an interesting project for master students who like to crunch data!

The West Antarctic Peninsula is composed of many fjords which are fed by broad glacial fronts. Several lines of evidence indicate that the glacial input supports high pelagic and/or benthic production. The West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is however experiencing rapid and significant warming since the second half of the 20th century and therefore most coastal glaciers are in retreat. These retreats will likely cause major shifts in the food web structure of these productive fjords. Due to their remoteness, however, a synoptic view of these Antarctic fjord ecosystems is lacking.

Andvord Bay is a glaciomarine fjord along the West Antarctic Peninsula and has been studied intensively in the last decade by colleagues from the USA (https://craigrsmithlab.com/fjordeco/) and they have generated a unique and comprehensive data set on the food web structure and ecosystem functioning (see e.g. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211107, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2019.102224, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084499 and https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.12688). In this MSc topic, you will develop a food web model of Andvord Bay based on this data set with the so-called linear inverse methodology. At NIOZ-Yerseke we have developed software for this modelling approach and have applied it already to various ecosystems.

So, if you like food web studies, data crunching, programming in R and sinking your teeth in a challenging, yet unique scientific question, then this is the MSc topic for you. The results of the model will form the basis of a scientific publication and will be presented (by you?) in an online workshop with participants from Chili, Argentina, Germany and USA. 

Requirements

Start: immediate
Length: at least 6 months, preferably longer
Type: MSc thesis
Location: NIOZ-Yerseke, hybrid working is feasible

Contact

For more information and to apply, please contact supervisors Dr. Dick van Oevelen (dick.van.oevelen@nioz.nl) and Prof. dr. Karline Soetaert (karline.soetaert@nioz.nl) at the Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, NIOZ, Yerseke.