Corals on the Red List: modelling which data gaps matter most for global extinction-risk assessments

Funding

Competition funded (UK/EU and international students)

Project code

ELS51010127

Department

• Department: School of the Environment and Life Sciences

Start dates

October 2027

Application deadline

15 January 2027

Applications are invited for a fully-funded three year PhD to commence in October 2027.

The PhD will be based in the Faculty of Science and Health within the School of the Environment and Life Sciences, and will be supervised by Dr Fran Cabada-Blanco , Dr Nic Minter and Dr Mike Hoffmann (Zoological Society of London) with a wider group of external supervisory team within the IUCN SSC Coral Specialist Group (CSG) and the Centre for Species Survival: Corals at The Florida Aquarium (CCS-Corals).

Candidates applying for this project may be eligible to compete for one of a small number of bursaries available. Successful applicants will receive a bursary to cover tuition fees for three years and a stipend in line with the UKRI rate (£21,805 for 2026/27). Bursary recipients will also receive a £1,500 for consumables, conference, project or training costs.

Costs for student visa and immigration health surcharge are not covered by this bursary. For further guidance and advice visit our international and EU students ‘Visa FAQs’ page .

This funded PhD is only open to new students who do not hold a previous doctoral level qualification.

The work on this project could involve:

Reef-building corals are among the most threatened animals on Earth: 44% of species assessed through the IUCN Red List are now at high risk of extinction, with climate change and myriad interacting local threats as drivers. Their IUCN Red List assessments guide where conservation effort and funding go and feed high-level indicators use to track progress under the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Yet for almost every coral species, assessors must judge extinction risk without direct population data. Filling this information gap for nearly 900 species before the next assessment cycle is unfeasible, and therefore a more strategic approach is needed. The questions that matter most then, is which gaps should be prioritised to reduce uncertainty and increase trust in the use of other proxies of decline.

This PhD will answer them. Working with the scientists and practitioners who carry out the global coral assessment, you will test how robust current assessments are and develop practical guidance showing assessors where confidence is high, where it is not, and what information would make the biggest difference. Your findings are designed to inform the next global reassessment of reef-building corals and to help set research and monitoring priorities internationally.

This is a computational project with no fieldwork or laboratory work, but its reach is global. It suits someone excited by quantitative ecology and by seeing their research used in real conservation decisions. You will be part of an international team spanning the University of Portsmouth, ZSL, the IUCN SSC Coral Specialist Group, the Center for Species Survival Corals at The Florida Aquarium.

• Research designed to inform the next global IUCN Red List assessment of reef-building corals and the biodiversity indicators that use them.
• A global project, working alongside an international network of the world’s coral experts, including the IUCN SSC Coral Specialist Group, ZSL and Red List practitioners.
• Highly transferable skills in quantitative ecology, programming, extinction-risk assessment and science–policy engagement, valued across academia, conservation organisations, government and consultancy.
• An international professional network, and training through IUCN programmes and the University of Portsmouth Doctoral College.

General admissions

You'll need a good first degree from an internationally recognised university (minimum upper second class or equivalent, depending on your chosen course) or a Master’s degree in an appropriate subject. In exceptional cases, we may consider equivalent professional experience and/or qualifications. English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 with no component score below 6.0.

Specific candidate requirements

You should have a background in ecology (population ecology, macroecology, evolutionary biology), marine biology, reef-building corals’ biology and ecology, conservation science or a related subject, with demonstrable experience using R and/or Python. More important than coding, is your understanding of the analyses’ principles with a sound grounding in both statistics and the ecological processes being modelled and/or tested. Understanding of extinction processes, phylogenetics and familiarity with the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, would be an advantage.

You will need excellent communication skills, good time management, and the ability to work both independently and as part of an international team working across different time zones.

How to apply

If you have any project-specific questions please contact Dr Fran Cabada-Blanco ( [email protected] ) to discuss your interest before you apply, quoting the project code.

When you are ready to apply, please use our online application form . Make sure you submit a personal statement, proof of your degrees and grades, details of two referees, proof of your English language proficiency and an up-to-date CV. Our ‘ How to Apply ’ page offers further guidance on the PhD application process.

If you want to be considered for this funded PhD opportunity you must quote project code ELS51010127 when applying. Please note that email applications are not accepted.

Contact information

Admissions

+44 (0) 23 9284 5566

SCDTP Bursaries

Fund your PhD with a South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership bursary, where a minimum of 34 studentships will be awarded per year to social scientists carrying out PhD studies or Masters.

Biological Sciences postgraduate research degrees

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Research areas