15 / 05 / 2024
Biodiversity
Blue economy
The sea before
Climate
Sea & health
This spring, the Flanders Marine Institute is opening six vacancies to recruit new PhD candidates. Curious which new research projects we are launching in close collaboration with one or more of the Flemish universities?
- PhD project: Plankton and climate
This research aims to study the effects of changing environmental conditions and extreme climate events (such as marine heat waves, oxygen depletion, ocean acidification, etc.) on phyto- and zooplankton communities in the Belgian North Sea. Using available time series, new in-situ imaging technology and genetic approaches, high-throughput observations are produced to study past and future events. PhD in collaboration with UGent. Apply before 9 June.
- PhD project: Plankton metagenomics
In this PhD project, we aim to use existing metagenomics datasets and a trait-based approach to understand interactions in complex plankton communities from a systems biology perspective. Among other things, we want to infer interactions between species, infer the nature of these interactions from metabolic functions and co-occurrence patterns, model community dynamics under different scenarios of environmental change, and model the effects of changes in plankton community composition on their ecosystem functions. PhD in collaboration with KU Leuven. Apply until 16 June. - PhD project: Blue psychology
Research suggests that exposure to a natural environment energises people and contributes to better mental health, less disease and longer life expectancy. What are the underlying emotional mechanisms driving the relationship between coastal exposure and well-being? In this PhD, the focus is on understanding the emotional impact of coastal landscapes on individuals and investigating the emotion-regulating effects of coastal exposure. PhD in collaboration with several Flemish university research groups. Apply until 16 June. - PhD project: Marine geology
A 4-year PhD position to map and reconstruct the Pleistocene palaeolandscapes of the outer Belgian Continental Shelf, mapping their evolution through time and identifying their connection to adjacent regional palaeolandscapes of the Netherlands, France and the UK. Using advanced acoustic techniques (high-resolution seismic reflection profiling, ultra-high-resolution sub-bottom profiling and multibeam bathymetric mapping), complemented by (vibro)coring of sediments. PhD in collaboration with UGent. Apply until 9 June. - PhD project: Tourism and gambling in seaside resorts
In the coming years, the Flanders Marine Institute will launch historical research to better understand the process that shaped seaside resorts and tourism as a whole. We will start by researching how gambling gained an essential place in Belgian seaside resorts and became embedded in the tourism industry, from the nineteenth century to the present. Not only do we want to map the wide range of gambling activities, but also the infrastructures and the social interactions between players of all classes and the actors within the gambling industry. PhD in collaboration with UAntwerpen. Apply until 9 June. - PhD-project: Plastic pollution in a changing marine environment
In this PhD, we aim to assess both the individual and multigenerational effects of plastic pollution on marine invertebrates, and that in combination with the effects of changes due to ocean warming and acidification. Quantifying and assessing the (future) risk of this combined exposure is also among the aims of the research. PhD in collaboration with UGent. Apply until 13 June.
