Food Web Interactions in Marine Ecosystems: From Urban to Offshore Environments
by Eleonora Puccinelli
Principal Investigator, Department of Coastal Systems (COS),
Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ)
Date: Thursday 29 August 2024,
Time: 10:30 AM (SAST)
Venue: NRF-SAIAB Lecture Room
Zoom Registration Link:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwvceugrT4jHtDy0ezxScDrt-JhdaQCGeN8
Passcode: 017205
Dr. Eleonora Puccinelli is a marine trophic ecologist with a primary interest in understanding how natural and anthropogenic processes mediate trophic interactions and translate into ecosystem-wide effects on biogeochemical cycling, environmental amelioration and marine food production. Dr. Puccinelli’s focus is on primary consumers, particularly benthos and zooplankton from intertidal to offshore environments, and how top-down and bottom-up processes affect their distribution, roles in biogeochemical cycling and other ecosystem services.
Specifically, she is interested in understanding how processes that affect phytoplankton communities translate into effects on primary consumers, focusing on the nitrogen cycling. These have included evaluating the role of upwelling in determining the diet of primary consumers, pollution inputs in coastal areas, and the effects of climate change in the North Sea. Dr. Puccinelli will provide an overview of her past and current research questions, presenting the work from three case studies set in an upwelling system, urban coastal environment, and a shallow open sea.
