PhD position in Marine Ecology (F/M/X)

The expected tasks include:

• Gaining a thorough understanding of the current literature in underwater image analysis and proposing and testing optimised annotation protocols based on an existing database of underwater images provided by project partners;
• Extracting biological data from these underwater image datasets to study and analyse biocolonisation patterns over large spatial and temporal scales (e.g. to identify specificities across different biogeographic provinces);
• Organising, preparing, and participating in offshore field campaigns to deploy various biocolonisation monitoring methods at two study sites: the export cable protection structure of an offshore wind farm in the Atlantic, and the met mast of the Fécamp offshore wind farm in Normandy;
• Processing samples collected during field campaigns (e.g. identification of benthic macrofauna, image analysis, preparation of samples for DNA sequencing);
• Statistically analysing and comparing biodiversity data obtained using different monitoring methods;
• Organising, preparing, and participating in biannual offshore field campaigns to study the biocolonisation of eco-engineered and non-eco- engineered artificial structures deployed in situ;
• Measuring oxygen and carbon fluxes (CO₂ and organic carbon) to characterise the metabolism of communities associated with eco- engineered artificial structures;
• Statistically analysing and interpreting ecological succession patterns of biocolonisation;
• Presenting results at international conferences and disseminating them through peer-reviewed scientific publications.

The PhD project will be carried out in collaboration between France Energies Marines, IFREMER, and the University of Caen.