Trait-Based Models to predict marine ecosystem dynamics
PhD thesis of Thomas Benoit (2022-2025)
How do habitat loss or changes impact the structure of benthic communities and biodiversity?
My thesis aims to develop an innovative global approach that links fauna with the finer characteristics of biogenic habitats to increase understanding of ecosystems in their current state and anticipate the impact of future changes.
Biogenic marine habitats play an important role in ecosystem functioning and interact with fauna through direct effects (complexification of space offering new ecological niches) or indirect effects (attenuation of biotic and abiotic pressures). The effects of current habitat loss or changes are poorly understood on a large scale, primarily due to a lack of knowledge about the nature of interactions between fauna and biogenic habitats. Indeed, the underlying mechanisms of biodiversity erosion are mainly described as the result of multiple functional losses.
My thesis is carried out along three complementary axes: (1) Shedding light on the major habitat characteristics based on scientific literature; (2) Building ecological networks from datasets and deriving generic rules of matching between biogenic habitats and associated fauna; (3) Establishing a theoretical framework to better understand and predict the structure and dynamics of benthic coastal ecosystems.
This thesis is part of the TRIDENT project.
Supervisors:
Martin Marzloff (LEBCO), Cédric Bacher (LEBCO), Aurélien Boyé (LEBCO), Mathieu Chevalier (LEBCO)
Colaborations:
Funding:
