Call for postdoctoral candidates interested in applying for a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship in the field of “Ecosystem services on the Mediterranean Coast”
This is a collaboration between two research groups.
Bernat Hereu Fina is associated professor in the Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, at the University of Barcelona. His current research focuses on two central issues: the study of the dynamics and functioning of benthic communities from a conservationist point of view, and the efficiency of marine reserves for the recovery of fish populations and their exploitation. In this research he uses visual and video techniques, experimental approaches and telemetry techniques.
Web page: www.medrecover.org
Phiippe Lenfant is professor at the University of Perpignan and director of the CEFREM- Centre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environements Méditeranéens. His research lines include Mechanisms to maintain exploited fish populations, Functionning of Marine Protected Areas and Artificial Reefs, Characterization of fish behavior on several time scales and Impact of global change on fish stands.
Web page: https://cefrem.univ-perp.fr/
Project information:
In the framework of the INTERREG POCTEFA project Resmed, lead by Bernat Hereu and Philippe Lenfant, we are looking for outstanding researchers to carry on studies on management efficiency for a better use of resources, the uses and the diverse ecosystem services provided by the Mediterranean coast.
The Pyrenean seaboard harbors a large part of the north-western Mediterranean biodiversity, as well as a great diversity of habitats used by various emblematic species with a high economic and heritage value. To preserve this high biodiversity and ecosystem services (fishing, tourism, leisure ...), the different French and Spanish administrations have taken various measures of spatial management (Marine Protected Areas) and fisheries regulation. However, there are evidences that these regulations are not efficient for many exploited species that show symptoms of overfishing. This problem derives from the sectoral regulation of the different administrations that have not considered the whole region as an ecological unit in which species use different habitats throughout their life histories. RESMED aims to improve the quality of ecosystems and their associated biodiversity through the design and implementation of conservation and management actions that include all essential habitats that use diverse species with different life cycles, and at a cross-border regional scale including the participation of all stakeholders of the region. For this, RESMED will perform a diagnosis of the conservation status of different commercial species with contrasted life cycles, will study the movement and use of the different key habitats they use throughout their life history during the feeding, reproduction and recruitment and nursery phases, as well as the habitats that they use as ecological corridors using visual census and telemetry techniques. This information will be very useful to design effective management measures integrating spatial regulations and fisheries measures at a regional transboundary level.