Position: Associated scientist

Function: I am a PhD-candidate at the Vienna doctoral school of Ecology and Evolution of the University of Vienna employed by the Natural History Museum of Vienna.

My PhD project is part of the transnational research project RESTORESEAS (https://www.restoreseas.net/), which aims to improve conservation of marine forests in the Atlantic Ocean. Marine forests are biodiversity-rich ecosystems engineered by key structural taxa of macroalgae, seagrasses and corals. These underwater forests are disappearing at an unprecedented rate and are further pushed toward a tipping point (e.g. climate change). RESTORESEAS is aiming to reverse this process by applying novel nature-based solutions that will help to improve the restoration resilience of these forests.
In this project I apply 16S-amplicon sequencing and metagenomics to characterize the host-associated microbiome in cold-water coral habitats in the North-Atlantic – primarily habitats formed by Desmophyllum pertusum – and to identify the microbial consortium involved in the successful restoration of these habitats.

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