Department of Integrative Marine Ecology

Director of Studies: Gabriele Procaccini

Project Summary/Abstract

Despite their key ecological value, coastal ecosystems such as seagrass meadows are experiencing a progressive decline, due to a number of threats associated to human activities along the coastline, as well as climate changes. In the Mediterranean, the marine angiosperm Posidonia oceanica forms dense meadows, which provide important ecological functions and services, being crucial for maintaining the quality of coastal waters, for the cycling of nutrients, for stabilizing sediments and reducing shoreline erosion. The conservation of P. oceanica meadows has become a key objective on actual European environmental and water policies. They are protected at the European level, as a priority habitat (Habitats Directive, Dir 92/43/CEE and Directive 97/62/CE) and as a species (Bern Convention, Annex 1), and are under specific legal protection actions in several European countries. Policies aiming at improving quality of coastal waters and marine environments across Europe are also being developed in European countries (Water Framework Directive and Marine Strategy Framework Directive), recognizing the large potential of P. oceanica meadows as bioindicators of ecological quality. In this context, investigation of the effects of climate and non-climate stressors in P. oceanica became crucial, in order to determine both the physiological response, and the potential adaptive response of the species. Effects of single environmental drivers (i.e. light, temperature and CO₂) have been studied in different seagrass species, both in natural and controlled conditions. Nonetheless, in natural environments, those drivers often do not act in isolation, but additive, synergistic or antagonistic effects can occur. This PhD project aims to investigate the effects of "multiple stressors" in Posidonia oceanica. The combined effects of pairs of factors (e.g. Temperature vs. Light; Temperature vs. CO₂ and Light vs. CO₂) will be investigated looking at the expression of target genes selected in previous single-stressor studies, via RT-qPCR. The photophysiological response will also be assessed looking at changes in the pigmentary pool, as well as characterizing the functionality and structure of the photosynthetic apparatus through chlorophyll a fluorescence measures. Changes in the morphology of the plants will also be considered in the project, as well as changes in some plant fitness traits. Finally, changes in the epiphytic community on rhizomes and leaves will be assessed in order to get an insight into potential indirect effects of stressors on P. oceanica. Experiments will be carried out in the new benthic mesocosm facility available at the SZN.

Project results will be useful for designing new management strategies of coastal resources in two different ways. First, allowing to move away from the impact-by-impact framework, to which management processes are strongly focused. Second, providing new generation of early warning indicators for environmental assessment.

PhD Program Open University - Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn

Duration of Ph.D. Thesis & Financial Support

Students are expected to complete their thesis within three years, with the possibility of a fourth year without salary, to write up the thesis (should this be necessary). The gross salary is € 16.000,00 per year for three years from which taxes (approximately 18%) will be subtracted. Students are liable to an annual registration fee to be paid to the Open University (not to the Stazione Zoologica).
The Stazione Zoologica will cover the registration fee for three years.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must hold or be in the process of receiving (within November 28th 2022):

1. an advanced degree such as a Master of Science (M.Sc.) or its equivalent in a scientific area coherent with the project proposed;

and, where English is not the applicant’s first language,

2. an IELTS certificate (dated within the last two years) with scores that meet the minimum requirements of 6.5 overall score, and no less than 6.0 in any of the four elements (reading, writing, listening and speaking).

 Alternative language certificate accepted:

- a degree completed either in the UK or in one of the majority English speaking countries listed listed below is also considered a proof of English proficiency:

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Australia
• The Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belize
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Guyana
• Ireland
• Jamaica
• Malta
• New Zealand
• St Kitts and Nevis
• St Lucia
• St Vincent and the Grenadines
• Trinidad and Tobago
• United States of America

The PhD Program is in English. Where English is not the applicant’s first language, he/she must demonstrate sufficient proficiency in the English language to support successful study at research degree standard. Fluency in spoken English will be assessed during the interview and is a strict requirement.

Thesis Supervision

Each student is assigned a Supervision Team before the start of the internship, whose appointment is proposed by the direct supervisor (Director of Studies) and approved by the Open University. The Supervision Team is composed at least by:
- one direct supervisor (Director of Studies), who will guide the student during the whole thesis work and will supervise the student on a daily basis;
- one external supervisor, (not belonging to SZN staff), appointed at the beginning of the internship, who will offer an independent assessment of the student progress annually.
It is possible to appoint additional members of the supervision team, as Internal (SZN staff), External (non-SZN staff) Supervisors or Advisors.

Courses and Training

PhD-level training is offered annually (2-3 courses per year) on scientific topics and complementary skills, together with specialized seminars (12-14 per year) offered by scientists invited by the SZN on different topics. Attendance to courses, seminars and all PhD Program’s events is mandatory. Students are required to follow all training events as well as the seminars and the tutorials before the seminars in order to qualify for the degree. All courses, seminars and tutorials are held in English.

Selection procedure

Applications will be evaluated by a Selection Committee on the basis of the candidate’s Education grade, experience and skills in the project area, motivation, reference letters and English proficiency.
Candidates will be notified by email the results of the applications evaluations.
Selected candidates will be invited for interviews.

The interviews (remote internet video conference is allowed) will be conducted in English and candidates will be asked to present their previous scientific experience and to discuss the project to which they are applying to. Their proficiency in English will be also tested.

Candidates with disabilities should please detail any eventual facility they require to participate in the interview. Every effort will be made to ensure that they can participate on an equal basis with other candidates and all reasonable arrangements requested by disabled candidates will be adopted.

The final appointment of the successful candidates is subject to the approval of the Open University.

Final candidates are expected to start their internship on December 1st.

If you have any question regarding the application process, please, contact Gabriella Grossi at phdszn(at)szn.it.

Special needs

Candidates with disabilities should please detail in the application form, any eventual facility they require to participate in the interview. Every effort will be made to ensure that they can participate on an equal basis with other candidates and all reasonable arrangements requested by disabled candidates will be adopted.

Practical information

The SZN does not offer lodging or financial support for moving expenses, neither parental support.
Students are offered practical support for their settling in Naples through theHigher Education & University Liaison Office that can be contacted at phdszn(at)szn.it.

Read SZN PhD Progam Body of Rules and Fellowship and tax information.

DEADLINE November 3rd 2022 - h. 12.00

PLEASE NOTE NEW DATE OF INTERVIEW

Interviews of selected candidates will be held in videoconference on November 11th 2022  on November 14th 2022 at h.  14:30 at the link

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89239275003?pwd=Z1Q2eUVOWEtIWXRVdnlBOW4wVkp4Zz09

 Updated on 14/11/2022

Department of Integrative Marine Ecology

Director of Studies: Maria I. Ferrante

Project Summary/Abstract

Signal transduction mechanisms are extremely well defined in multicellular organisms and unicellular model systems such as yeast and Chlamydomonas but very little is known for phytoplankton. Yet, understanding how cells sense and integrate environmental signals is fundamental to explain population dynamics, community interactions and ultimately ecosystem functioning.

Diatoms, among phytoplanktonic organisms, are one of the most important and abundant groups and, because of the availability of genomic data and genetic resources for a selection of species, represent currently the most suitable system to approach molecular and functional studies.

Among the possible signals that a cell can send and receive, we have chosen to investigate the chemical communication during sexual reproduction in the pennate marine diatom Pseudo-nitzschia multistriata, a species for which we produced a reference genome and transcriptomes.

We undertook gene expression studies to investigate the pathways and gene networks used by diatoms to process the signals. The data revealed complex changes in gene expression of cells engaged in the initial phases of sexual reproduction. Importantly, we observed changes in the expression of genes well-characterized in animals or plants but so far scarcely or not at all described for diatoms.

This project aims at developing on these findings, providing further support to the hypothesis that specific signaling pathways well described in other systems are active in diatoms and are being used to process the reception of chemical cues (pheromones). This will be done by expanding the studies on gene expression, and by perturbation experiments, exploiting functional genomics techniques recently developed in the laboratory.

The data generated will allow to define gene networks in diatoms and to carry out comparative studies to identify specific and general characteristics of diatom responses to external stimuli.

Eventually, we will integrate the information obtained in the laboratory with metagenomics and metatranscriptomics data collected across the world’s oceans, such as data collected during the TARA Oceans expedition, strengthening the integration of environmental and experimental data.

In progress