Early Career Scientists
ACTNOW Project
Kleopatra Kalloniati
PhD, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Remote Sensing and Biochemical Oceanography
"By combining long-term observations, field cruises, and climate projections, my research in ACTNOW explores how climate-driven warming and anthropogenic pressures are reshaping coastal plankton communities and threatening the sustainability of Mediterranean mussel aquaculture."
James Andrew de Haast
PhD, University of Helsinki
Marine Biology
"I model marine systems; my research focuses on using hierarchical modelling of species communities (HMSC) to identify the drivers of changes in community composition and biodiversity. Currently, I am working on comparing multiple HMSC models across different areas, focusing on shared drivers and the question: is a big model better than several regional models?"
Sarah Kempf
PhD, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
Ecophysiology
“The remote, fragile corners of our planet, especially the poles, have long been my core habitat. Currently, my research focuses on Polar cod, a vital keystone species in the Arctic ecosystem. By identifying their environmental thresholds and how they respond to climate change, I aim to understand how resilient this crucial species is in a rapidly changing world.”
Eugénie Dereuder
PhD, University of Rostock
Ecophysiology
"My work within ACTNOW investigates how physical and chemical stressors may act together and create stronger biological effects on marine organisms than they would individually. Specifically, I use laboratory experiments to study the responses of blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) to stressors that are becoming increasingly common in polluted aquatic environments (e.g. temperature, hypoxia, pharmaceuticals, and trace metals). Mussels are my model organism because they are widespread across Europe and form reefs that are very important for coastal biodiversity. I assess their responses through a range of indicators, from physiological rates, attachment capacity and thermal performance to cellular biomarkers and metabolomic responses."
Andrea Budiša
PhD, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW)
Marine Ecology
“I study marine phytoplankton, focusing on species that can trigger harmful algal blooms (HABs) and disrupt vital ecosystem services. My research uses multifactorial experiments to understand how these taxa respond to global change drivers, particularly warming and eutrophication. This work aims to help clarify what blooms could look like in the future.”
Valentina Leoni
CoNISMa
Marine Ecology
"My research focuses on the ecology of cnidarian jellyfish across both regional and global scales. In the Mediterranean Sea, I study the environmental drivers, trophic role, and population dynamics of jellyfish blooms through biological sampling and ecosystem-based analyses. At the global scale, my work synthesizes jellyfish diet data and bloom dynamics to better understand their ecological functions, socio-ecological impacts, and current monitoring frameworks worldwide."
Patrizia Stipcich
PhD, University of Naples Federico II
Marine Ecology
“Within ACTNOW, I focused on identifying the interacting factors influencing leaf bleaching in the seagrass Posidonia oceanica, an endemic species of the Mediterranean Sea. Although leaf bleaching is commonly considered a sign of senescence, our findings showed that it is also driven by multiple environmental factors. These results not only provided new insights, but also raised further research questions. The questions emerging from the ACTNOW outcomes led to my next step: receiving funding as a National Geographic Explorer for a follow-up project called B-POSITIVE.”
Anika Happe
Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), University of Oldenburg
Plankton ecology, biodiversity
"I provide a structured overview of how marine biodiversity is assessed in European waters, spanning policy frameworks, assessment tools, and scientific studies. In addition, I analyze long-term datasets to examine how population trends and biodiversity have changed within my local ecosystem, the Wadden Sea."
John A Gittings
PhD, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Satellite Remote Sensing & Biological Oceanography
"My role in ACTNOW relates to the development of ecological indicators in the Mediterranean, such as phytoplankton size structure, that provide essential information on marine ecosystem productivity"
Elizabeth Yanuskiewicz
PhD, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ)
Marine Biogeochemistry
"I research food webs, focusing on organisms at the base of food webs, and use geochemical approaches to assess prey quality for consumers at a biodiversity hotspot in the North Sea"
Deborah Cesaroni
PhD, Polythecnic University of Marche
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Chemistry
"My PhD research is conducted within the ACTNOW project, with a particular focus on Case Study 10 (CS10) in the Northern and Central Adriatic Sea. This case study investigates how multiple environmental stressors interact and influence the resilience of key Adriatic marine species, specifically the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and the Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum). A major component of my research focuses on understanding the causes of the decline of wild mussel populations in the Adriatic Sea and identifying potential mitigation strategies"
Emily Peterson
PhD, Wageningen Marine Research
Spatial Modeling & Ecophysiology
"I combine ecophysiology experimentation and ecosystem models to assess and predict invasive species dynamics. My research focuses on sediment-dwelling bivalves that provide integral ecosystem services in the Wadden Sea. Understanding how nonnative species may outcompete native equivalents under a changing climate is key for future management decisions and biodiversity preservation"
Lara Fumarola
PhD, University of Salento
Marine Biodiversity & Ecology
"My research focuses on the eco-physiology and population dynamics of scyphozoan jellyfish in the context of climate change. I integrate field monitoring, laboratory experiments, and mechanistic modelling to investigate how multiple stressors such as ocean warming, habitat alteration, and species introductions affect jellyfish across their life cycle. By combining functional traits, metabolic performance, and trophic ecology, I aim to understand the drivers of bloom dynamics and predict future distribution patterns of native and non-native species in the Mediterranean."