PhD Opportunity: Living Seascapes in the Western Indian Ocean
University of Southampton
📅 Application deadline: 8 January 2026
🌍 Open to students worldwide
The University of Southampton is offering a fully funded PhD opportunity focused on Living Seascapes: Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services, and Equitable Marine Conservation in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO).
This competitive PhD project invites motivated candidates to advance the conservation of marine biodiversity and ecosystem services across one or more tropical seascapes in the Western Indian Ocean, a region of global ecological and social importance.
The Western Indian Ocean is characterized by highly interconnected ecosystems, including coral reefs, seagrass meadows, mangroves, and pelagic zones. Together, these systems support exceptional biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services such as fisheries productivity, carbon storage, and coastal protection. However, these ecosystems are increasingly threatened by overfishing, habitat degradation, and climate change.
This PhD project will explore how species interactions extend across multiple marine habitats, shaping community stability and ecosystem functioning at the seascape scale.
Learn more and apply here
