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Congratulations to Kate Wade for her successfully defended thesis entitled “The biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and value of restored salt marshes in the Eden Estuary, Scotland”

Well done Kate!

Welcome to new staff member Trish Browne. Trish joins us as a Research Technician supporting the work within SERG, in particular the John Templeton Foundation and NERC BLUEcoast funded projects.

NEW POST – Research Technician to support SERG and the John Templeton Foundation funded project – niche construction and evolutionary diversity in experimental communities

An exciting opportunity is available for a motivated candidate to support the work of the Sediment Ecology Research Group (SERG) as part of a major multinational, interdisciplinary research consortium.

We are seeking a versatile and computer literate candidate with good field and laboratory skills relevant to benthic ecology. We expect to attract a motivated worker with the initiative to handle fieldwork and accepting some travel and the unsociable hours (tidal cycles) that are occasionally required. The candidate will be based in the Sediment Ecology Research Group (SERG) at the University of St Andrews under the main supervision of Dr Adam Wyness and Prof. David M. Paterson. The main purpose of the role is to support the design and running of experiments using laboratory benthic mesocosms, flume system and fieldwork. Incubation of bacteria, diatoms and handling of benthic infauna will be required but training can be given.

Two year position starting May 2017 Informal enquiries to: Prof David M. Paterson ([email protected])

Congratulations to Stephen Watson for his successfully defended thesis entitled “The Impact of Multiple Stressors on Coastal Biodiversity and Associated Ecosystem Services”.

Well done Steve!

Congratulations to Adam Wyness for his successfully defended thesis entitled “The influence of sediment characteristics on the abundance and distribution of E. coli in estuarine sediments”.

Well done Adam!

Prof Dave Paterson for his NERC award “Physical and biological dynamic coastal processes and their role in coastal recovery (BLUE-coast)”, £298,973

Kevin Laland on receiving a £5.7m three-year grant from the John Templeton Foundation for the project “Putting the extended evolutionary synthesis to the test”.

The grant, which is led by the University of St Andrews, will fund 22 linked research projects to be carried out by an international team of 50 experts at eight universities, including Cambridge, Stanford, Lund, Indiana, Southampton, Clark, and the Santa Fe Institute.

Project PIs also include David Paterson, Graeme Ruxton, Maria Dornelas and Andy Gardner, whose projects will explore a variety of evolutionary and ecological questions, focused on to what extent developmental plasticity and niche construction can account for evolutionary diversity and complexity.

Congratulations to Julie Hope for her successfully defended thesis entitled “The biological mediation of cohesive and non-cohesive sediment dynamics”.

Well done Julie!

Prof David Paterson and postgraduate student Joseph Kenworthy, for a placement award from NERC and the CEH, “Valuing coastal services: Stressor induced impacts, tipping points and social wellbeing”, £8,328.

Congratulations to Joseph Kenworthy for his successfully defended thesis entitled “Comparative estuarine dynamics: trophic linkages and ecosystem function”.

Well done Joe!