Lead Supervisor: Dr Samantha Garrard (sga@pml.ac.uk)
2ndSupervisors: Dr Benjamin Ciotti (benjamin.ciotti@plymouth.ac.uk) and Professor Nicola Beaumont (nijb@pml.ac.uk)
Associate Partners: Joanne Bayes and Dr Jacob Bentley (Natural England)

 

Project Description

Background: This is an exciting opportunity to take part in a transdisciplinary PhD which will provide the post-holder with a wide range of skills to enable them to become an innovative, solution-driven researcher or practitioner, working at the science-policy interface. The project will cross the boundaries of natural, social and economic science to build on previous work and provide a holistic assessment of the provision of sandeel ecosystem services in Celtic Seas.

Sandeels (Ammodytidae) are a key genus of forage fish within the Celtic Seas, and the UK as a whole. They provide a vital trophic link between zooplankton and higher predators including several commercial fish species, seabirds, seals, and cetaceans. There is some evidence that predation on sandeels is linked to greater body condition in predatory fish. They provide multiple environmental and societal benefits, and understanding these will help communicate the potential impact of appropriate management and protection of their populations and habitat.

 

Aims and Objectives

The project will build on a previous North Sea Assessment, reducing model uncertainty and incorporating 1) fishing pressure, 2) climate change, 3) MPAs, and 4) plastic pollution into the natural capital assessment. The project will focus on four main objectives:

  • To review the ecosystem services provided by sandeels in the Celtic Seas;
  • To assess how those services will be impacted by future climate change/ plastic pollution scenarios.
  • To determine the contribution and nutritional importance of sandals to the diet of key commercial fish species;
  • To produce a natural capital account for sandeels in the Celtic Seas.

This work will provide a case study for the ICES Workshop on Assessing Capacity to Supply Ecosystem Services, ensuring dissemination at the science-policy interface.

Candidate requirements

The successful candidate would be expected to have basic laboratory skills, knowledge of marine biology/ ecology, and a passion for the sustainable management of marine resources.

Training

The post-holder will be primarily based at Plymouth Marine Laboratory where they will join a growing cohort of PhD students, and will learn valuable academic, policy and consultancy career skills (e.g. transferable writing and presentation skills, good laboratory practice, time management). They will be trained in ecosystem service assessments by Dr Samantha Garrard and Professor Nicola Beaumont (Plymouth Marine Laboratory), develop skills in fisheries research and DNA metabarcoding with Dr Benjamin Ciotti (University of Plymouth), and skills in natural capital accounting and ecosystem modelling with Jo Bayes and Jacob Bentley (Natural England). The post-holder will also benefit from attending training in the Ecopath with Ecosim food web modelling suite, provided by Natural England at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) London office: Nobel House, and attending ICES working group meetings.

Information for Applicants

Applications for Cohort 2 of the CDT SuMMeR is now open, with PhD Studentships commencing from 1 October 2023.

How to apply
Please find below the list of PhD projects which will start from October 2023. Please click on the reference code of the project you are interested in for more information and the contact details of the Lead Supervisor. You are encouraged to contact the Lead Supervisor (stated in the description of the project) prior to the submission of your application to discuss any aspect of the project/s you are interested in. This will be informal and will have no impact on any applications that follow, other than showing your interest and enthusiasm.

To submit your application, please send to cdt-summer@plymouth.ac.uk:

  • A two-page curriculum vitae (CV) – please do not include personal information, such as your portrait photograph, age, marital status or nationality on your CV.. Let us know your education history from undergraduate, work experience, employment, research and publications and any other experience you consider relevant for the project. (Do contact the team at CDT SuMMeR if you have queries (CDT-SuMMeR-PGRS@plymouth.ac.uk);
  • A personal statement/covering letter (no longer than 1000 words) which explains why you consider yourself to be a suitable candidate for the PhD Project advertised, what qualifications, experience and skills you have that support your application, and what your aspirations are following on completion of this PhD. Our team is strongly committed to upholding equity, diversity, and inclusion. We expect candidates to uphold these same values and contribute to a positive, safe and inclusive environment. We invite candidates to include a statement about their experience of working across disciplines, cultures, countries or groups in their cover letter. Please ensure you state the PhD Project Reference Code for which you are applying for, on your personal statement/covering letter;
  • Complete the Diversity survey at the following link: CDT SuMMeR EDI Survey Please note this is for monitoring purposes only and is not linked to your application. The raw data is being collected independently of the CDT SuMMeR Programme Office by SERIO and is being collected because we want to check how well we are improving our recruitment processes year-on-year. We want to make sure we attract the best talent by recruiting candidates from many diverse backgrounds and experiences. Only the anonymised and aggregated data will be made available to the CDT SuMMeR programme office.
  • Optional: SuMMeR appreciates and values differences and seeks to attract, develop and retain a diverse mix of talented people that will contribute to and benefit from the CDT. If you wish to do so, please provide any contextual information that is relevant to your prior attainment and/or your educational pathway to this point. For example, if you are returning to the education system after a period of prolonged absence, you may, if you wish, list any relevant professional experience/qualifications that you have gained. Or, if your prior attainment was affected by extenuating circumstances that you wish to share with us, please do so (up to 500 words).

The closing date for applications is 16:00 BST on 17th January 2023.

Shortlisted candidates will be contacted by email and invited for interview, with interviews expected to take place from the week commencing the 6th of February 2023. We regret that we may not be able to respond to every applicant. Applicants who have not received a response by this date should consider their application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.

Eligibility

Applicants should have a first or upper second-class honours degree in an appropriate subject and either a relevant Masters qualification or a wider range of experience in a relevant career path (which is equally as important).

Each applicant may apply for a studentship on up to three projects. Where more than one project is applied for, the supervisors of all those projects will be made aware that other applications have been made

CDT SuMMeR studentships are partially funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), which applies the eligibility criteria laid down by its parent body, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and co-funded by the respective Hosting Partner institutes. UKRI provides details on its training grants in its Terms and Conditions for Training Funding document, including its Training Grant Guide, which can be found on the UKRI website.

International students are eligible for all UKRI-funded postgraduate studentships but UKRI will normally limit the proportion of international students appointed each year through individual doctoral training programmes to 30% of the total.

The studentship is supported for 3 years and 8 months. All UKRI-funded PhD students (UK, EU, International) will be eligible for the full award – both the stipend to support living costs (currently £17,668 per annum pro rata at the 2022/23 rate), and fees at the research organisations’ UK rate. CDT SuMMeR’s funding will not cover international fees set by universities, applicants normally required to pay International fees may have to cover the difference between the Home and the International tuition fee rates (approximately £12,697 per annum).

Please enquire with the lead supervisor on the situation regarding international fees for the project you are interested in.  CDT SuMMeR’s funding will not cover costs associated with visa application or health surcharges, or additional costs associated with entry to, and living in the UK. For EU and international eligibility for UKRI studentships see UKRI’s guidance .

In case of uncertainty, the planned university of registration should be contacted for eligibility advice; or the CDT SuMMeR Programme Office: cdt-summer-students@plymouth.ac.uk

Find out more here.