Fully Funded PhD in Biology scholarship: Accelerating nature-based solutions in riparian wetlands to address enhanced storm-driven wastewater from agriculture and urban systems

Globally, waterways and lakes have suffered from excessive nutrient loading arising from wastewater release, both industrial and agricultural. Future climate projections suggest that storm surges will become more common, leading to further and enhanced wastewater release. While riparian wetlands are known to be effective at reducing nitrogen loading, this project looks to enhance the efficacy of riparian wetlands in mitigating these releases by considering different release sources and climate/rainfall scenarios. JNCC, the Redeker, Pattison labs and ERI-UHI have extensive experience in national and international waste management issues, ecosystem function and riparian/wetland ecosystem sampling and analysis. The student’s field-based UK project will inform work within a pilot study investigating nature-based solutions for nutrient loading from cattle farming in South Africa (and potentially other projects).

The student will engage across all aspects of experimental design and creation, wetland sampling, molecular and analytical assays, stakeholder engagement and policy. Specifically, it is likely that the student will develop greenhouse-based experimental designs and combine this with field-based research. Soil and water samples will be taken, with the potential to explore plant tissues. Analyses of nutrient loading in sediments and waters, microbial community composition and function, and plant community will be performed by the student. Outcomes from the studies will be presented at conferences, with stakeholders, and policy-makers advising on nature-based solutions for nutrient loading from agriculture and urban systems in a changing climate.

We recognise that not every talented researcher will have had the same opportunities to advance their careers. We therefore will account for any particular circumstances that applicants disclose (e.g. parental leave, caring duties, part-time jobs to support studies, disabilities etc.) to ensure an inclusive and fair recruitment process. We will be holding ‘meet the supervisor’ events on March 25th, 26th and 27th (online) – if you can’t make these but are interested in this project, please contact the lead supervisor directly (see below for details).

Links to the scheduled ‘meet the supervisor’ events, as well as the full list of projects advertised under this CDT, can be found here: https://ecowild.site.hw.ac.uk/phd-training/

How to apply: You must apply via the ECOWILD website: https://ecowild.site.hw.ac.uk/how-to-apply/