Qualification Type: PhD
Location: Colchester
Funding for: UK Students, Self-funded Students
Funding amount: Living costs stipend at the UK Research and Innovation recommended level per year. The stipend for 2024-25 is £19,237. The rate for 2025-26 TBA.
Hours: Full Time
Placed On: 21st November 2024
Closes: 7th February 2025
Reference: 11366 Life Sci_Sociology Oct 2025
Project Overview
This is an opportunity to conduct fully funded interdisciplinary research under the ‘Sustainable Transitions – Leverhulme Doctoral Training Programme’ at the University of Essex.
Coastal communities must rapidly adapt to the effects of sea-level rise. Nature-based solutions (NbS) can assist with achieving a sustainable transition of coastal defence that traditionally relies on hard-engineered structures including seawalls and groynes. In contrast, soft-engineered structures encourage natural reef-formation (e.g. oyster and mussel reefs) that improve water quality, elevate the seabed and dissipate wave energy. Research must inform such ambitious goals on the utility of and transition to NbS: (i) Marine science provides the knowledge base on the ecology and settlement biology of reef-building organisms. (ii) Circular economies that benefit businesses, society, and the environment can be created to provide materials (e.g. bivalve shell, rubble) that encourage natural settlement and reef-formation. (iii) The socioeconomic landscape together with conservation concerns and existing regulatory frameworks on coastal use must inform future defence strategies.
To enable a sustainable transition of coastal defence, your project will quantify spatial extend and growth of existing reefs and pilot novel methodologies that facilitate reef development. You will engage various stakeholders including the fishing, leisure and tourism industries, conservation groups, environment management agencies and local governments to better understand how NbS could be implemented and their acceptance as a form of coastal protection.
Interdisciplinary Focus and Methods
You will use an interdisciplinary approach that integrates the natural sciences with sociology to both explore the potential of NbS for coastal protection and the likely acceptance of these solutions amongst various stakeholders within coastal communities. You will be expected to map the current and potential habitats of reef-building organisms, and quantify reef development on various substrates at a pilot site (supervision: Dr Steinke), and engage in qualitative research with local communities to understand the perceived barriers and opportunities of NbS in coastal communities (supervision: Dr Wheeler).
Person Specification
This opportunity would suit a candidate with a degree in environmental/marine science but candidates with a social-science degree and environment-facing experiences will be considered. It is not necessary for the candidate to have prior training in spatial mapping of habitats or the approaches and methodologies in the Social Sciences as this can be provided on the programme.
