The Southern Ocean represents 20% of the world’s oceans and is thus hugely important in terms of biodiversity and climate. It is undeniable that the Southern Ocean has changed over the past 30 years and climate predictions suggest further drastic changes into the future. The historical and future impact of these changes on biodiversity is relatively unknown and research to date has focused only a few species.

An exciting opportunity now exists to be part of a team working at the interface between statistics and ecology, applied to the Southern Ocean. Two projects are offered, one focuses on historical data and aims to describe and predict patterns of biodiversity. The other is looking ahead and aims to provide effective survey/monitoring methods for a truly remote and inhospitable environment. Both projects offer scope for flexibility of topics, from methodological to more applied and even communication-orientated. There is much work to be done, and there is large scope for impact - both scientific and to how the environment is managed.

Here are the descriptions of the projects:

https://www.utas.edu.au/our-research/research-degrees/available-projects/science-technology-and-engineering/area/institute-for-marine-and-antarctic-studies/analysing-ecological-change-in-the-southern-ocean

https://www.utas.edu.au/our-research/research-degrees/available-projects/science-technology-and-engineering/area/institute-for-marine-and-antarctic-studies/ecological-monitoring-in-the-southern-ocea

Please contact Nicole Hill (nicole.hill@utas.edu.au) or Scott Foster (scott.foster@data61.csiro.au) for further details.