Project 18 - The ecology of toxicological non-target effects (Andrew Beckerman, University of Sheffield)

About the project

About the Project This PhD focuses on mathematical modelling of how species interactions mediate the impacts of chemical stress on biodiversity, particularly in terrestrial ecosystems where we know the least and where we need to make strong inroads to support biodiversity and humanity in the Anthropocene. Are you passionate about solving complex environmental challenges? Interested in creating non-toxic environments that benefit society and nature alike? This innovative and exciting PhD project, co-designed with non-academic partners, is part of the NERC-funded ECOSOLUTIONS Doctoral Focal Award, and offers the opportunity to address real world challenges with key opinion-formers to help support sustainable chemical development and create non-toxic urban & rural landscapes. Project details: Aligning with the EU and UK regulatory drive toward community-level (biodiversity) risk assessment and the ECOSOLUTIONS vision for systems-level environmental protection, this PhD aims to resolve key barriers in modelling how complex chemical stress impacts biodiversity and ecosystem functions, particularly in terrestrial communities. While we increasingly understand that species interactions mediate the impacts of externalextenral stress on biodiversity, three substantial challenges exist for translating the potential of ecological modelling of biodiverse communities to meet emerging environmental protection goals. First, there is limited understanding of the differences among how terrestrial, aquatic and their interface communities respond to multiple chemical stress. Second, we are relatively poor at developing accurate models of terrestrial species interactions, especially integrating variation in consumer-resource size ratios and linking above and below-ground processes. Finally, and against the emerging policy focus on terrestrial communities of non-target effects of chemical stress, we remain poor at elucidating the consequences of chemical stress in terrestrial communities for species, functional groups and ecosystem function. This PhD addresses these gaps in knowledge using advanced computation modelling of ecological networks and data driven statistical modelling of ecological and ecotoxicological data. The ECOSOLUTIONS DFA Led by the Universities of Sheffield and York and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, ECOSOLUTIONS is a cutting-edge, transdisciplinary initiative. This innovative programme combines science, policy, and societal engagement to transform chemicals policy and management, enabling a safe, sustainable chemicals sector and non-toxic environments. This project is one of 19 projects that are available for the third ECOSOLUTIONS and final cohort who will work together to begin to understand and solve the problems of sustainable chemical design and use, as well tackling the problems that pollution causes in urban environments, rural landscapes and food systems. What You will Gain As an ECOSOLUTIONS PhD student, you will work with world-leading experts across diverse fields such as ecology, data science, digital solutions, chemistry, geography, psychology, environmental engineering, policy, and law. You will learn to tackle the risks posed by chemicals while enabling their societal benefits, adopting a whole-systems and solutions-focused approach. You will receive 3 years and 9 months of funding and take part in a dynamic training and development programme, including: Induction course: Connect with fellow students, supervisors, and the ECOSOLUTIONS team while exploring the programme’s mission. Primer course: Gain foundational knowledge on the environmental risks that chemicals pose, policy landscapes, and sustainable chemical innovation. Transferable skills workshops: Master data management, big data methods, research practices, communication, stakeholder engagement and more. Systems-solutions workshops: Collaborate across disciplines to explore sustainable chemical design and development, address pollution in urban & rural landscapes, and develop actionable solutions. Three-month secondment: Syngenta International conferences: Share your findings and network with global experts. The skills you will need To do this project you will need the following essential skills: Experience with either R, Julia, Matlab for statistical modelling and mathematical programming. Strong understanding of ecological theory Eligibility : To be considered for the ECOSOLUTIONS DFA, you will need at least an upper 2nd class honours degree or equivalent in a relevant discipline. As a collaboration of international research-led universities, we welcome students from all walks of life and from across the world. Within our programme, we are dedicated to diversifying our community. As part of our ongoing work to improve Equality, Diversity and Inclusion we strongly encourage applications from UK/Home candidates from identified underrepresented groups: Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, those from a disadvantaged socio-economic background, and disabled people. Start Your Research Career with ECOSOLUTIONS: This PhD is part of the ECOSOLUTIONS Doctoral Focal Award (DFA), a prestigious NERC-funded program dedicated to training the next generation of environmental practitioners. For more details and a full list of other PhD projects under this programme, visit: https://ecosolutions.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/ Application Web Page: For more information on how to apply, please visit the ECOSOLUTIONS website: https://ecosolutions.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/ Project specific enquiries: Professor Andrew Beckerman, a.beckerman@sheffield.ac.uk

Research areas