Director of Studies:
Dr Benjamin Ciotti
Second Supervisor:
Dr Keiron Fraser
Third Supervisor: Professor Clive Trueman, University of Southampton
Fourth Supervisor:
Dr Mark Rawling
Second Supervisor:
Third Supervisor: Professor Clive Trueman, University of Southampton
Fourth Supervisor:
Applications are invited for a 3.5 years PhD studentship. The studentship will start on 01 October 2027.
Project description
Scientific background
Fisheries and fish biodiversity depend on coastal nurseries which are heavily exposed to human activities. In particular, commercially important flatfish, such as turbot, sole and plaice, rely critically on knee- or waist-deep areas of sandy beaches in their first summer. In heatwaves, these shallows warm rapidly but also receive an influx of beachgoers. Impacts of warming and human disturbance on these coastal nurseries are little studied, but likely include direct feeding interference and thermal stress as well as indirect effects through displacement to suboptimal habitats, ultimately impacting growth, survival and recruitment to the adult population.
This project aims to untangle the interactive effects of increased temperature and human disturbance on fish nurseries through applications of state-of-the-art tools, developed at Plymouth and Southampton, for measuring metabolism, growth and stress responses in situ.
Research methodology
Working at University of Plymouth’s exceptional
Brixham Laboratory , the student will explore physiological responses of juvenile turbot to temperature increase under different feeding conditions. Turbot are commercially valuable, locally available, with well-developed husbandry practices; juveniles rely on the most-impacted, shallowest areas of beaches around Plymouth.
Physiological traits investigated will include metabolic rate, growth rate, protein synthesis, oxidative stress as well as field proxies for these processes (RNA-based indices, otolith carbon-isotope chemistry). Field investigations using the proxies will then examine influences of warming and human presence on distribution, feeding, growth energetics and stress in situ.
Bringing insights from these efforts to an existing long-term beach-sampling dataset, the student will identify drivers of nursery habitat quality and apply this to forecast changes under future scenarios.
Training
The PhD presents an unrivalled opportunity to complement cutting-edge experimental work in controlled aquaria with field approaches, developing a broad, in-demand skillset relevant to contemporary fisheries and conservation management. Training will be provided in field sampling, fish husbandry and advanced analytical approaches that bridge pioneering expertise of the supervisors: biochemical growth and stress indices (Ciotti and Rawling), flooding dose methods to measure protein synthesis (Fraser), geochemical approaches to infer field metabolic rate (Trueman).
Person specification
Would suit individuals with interests in ecophysiology fisheries/conservation ecology who seek to combine laboratory and field approaches.
References
Ciotti BJ, Brown EJ, Colloca F, Eggleston DB, Hyman AC, Le Pape O, Lipcius RN, Maathuis MAM, Poiesz SSH, Rose KA, Seitz RD, Ventura D, van de Wolfshaar KE (2025) Measuring juvenile habitat quality for fishes and invertebrates. Biological Reviews 100:2346-2395
Ciotti BJ, Targett TE, Nash RDM, Batty RS, Burrows MT, Geffen AJ (2010) Development, validation and field application of an RNA-based growth index in juvenile plaice Pleuronectes platessa. J Fish Biol 77:2181-2209
Cienfuegos IA, Ciotti BJ, Billington RA, Sutton PA, Fraser KPP (2026) Growth in the margins: Field measured protein metabolism rates in the common limpet, Patella vulgata. Mar Environ Res 213:107658
Trueman CN, Artetxe-Arrate I, Kerr LA, Meijers AJS, Rooker JR, Sivankutty R, Arrizabalaga H, Belmonte A, Deguara S, Goñi N, Rodriguez-Marin E, Dettman DL, Santos MN, Karakulak FS, Tinti F, Tsukahara Y, Fraile I (2023) Thermal sensitivity of field metabolic rate predicts differential futures for bluefin tuna juveniles across the Atlantic Ocean. Nature Communications 14 (1):7379 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41930-2
Rawling M, Schiavone M, Apper E, Merrifield DL, Castex M, Leclercq E, Foey A (2023) Yeast cell wall extracts from Saccharomyces cerevisiae varying in structure and composition differentially shape the innate immunity and mucosal tissue responses of the intestine of zebrafish (Danio rerio). Front Immunol 25;14:1158390.
Eligibility
Acceptable first degree subject(s): Biological, environmental, marine or related science.
If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum English requirements for the programme, IELTS Academic score of 6.5 (with no less than 5.5 in each component test area) or equivalent.
ARIES studentships are subject to UKRI terms and conditions. Successful candidates who meet UKRI’s eligibility criteria will be awarded a fully-funded studentship, which covers fees, maintenance stipend £21,805 p.a. for 2026/27 (2027/28 TBC) and a research training and support grant (RTSG).
A limited number of studentships are available for international applicants, with the difference between 'home' and 'international' fees being waived by the registering university.
Please note, however, that ARIES funding does not cover additional costs associated with relocation to, and living in, the UK, such as visa costs or the health surcharge.
NB: The studentship is supported for 3.5 years of the four-year registration period. The subsequent 6 months of registration is a self-funded ‘writing-up’ period.
Working part-time while receiving a stipend at the University of Plymouth is generally permitted, provided it does not conflict with the terms of your funding or visa requirements.
- Full-time jobs cannot be held alongside a full-time stipend.
- International students are generally limited to 20 hours of work per week
If you wish to discuss this project further informally, please contact
Dr Benjamin Ciotti .
Please view a list of
supporting documents to upload with your application.
For more information on the admissions process generally, please visit our
how to apply for a research degree webpage or contact the Doctoral College at research.degree.admissions@plymouth.ac.uk
The closing date for applications on 16 December 2026.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview after the deadline. We regret that we may not be able to respond to all applications. Applicants who have not received a response within six weeks of the closing date should consider their application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.