PhD position: Offshore wind farms biofouling and plankton interactions

Are you interested in how biofouling in offshore wind farms affects plankton communities? The Wageningen Marine Research Institute is looking for a PhD candidate to join their research team on biofouling in offshore wind farms.

Your job

Are you interested in how biofouling in offshore wind farms affects plankton communities? We are looking for a motivated PhD candidate to join our research team on biofouling with a focus on understanding how the structure and functioning of epifauna communities affects plankton in water passing trough offshore wind farms (OWFs) in the North Sea.

Key responsibilities

  • Investigate how community structure and feeding strategies change under climate change and by OWFs;
  • Conduct field surveys from research vessels, lab incubations and feeding experiments, quantification of biogeochemical fluxes and monitoring of settlement plates on landers.
  • Integrate empirical data into conceptual models;
  • Publish research findings in peer-reviewed journals and present them at national and international conferences;
  • Contribute to a vibrant and inclusive research culture within the research group;
  • Mentor BSc/MSc students.

About the No-REGRETS project

This research is part of the multidisciplinary NO-REGRETS project, and involves a collaboration between Wageningen University & Research with the Royal NIOZ, TU Delft, UvA and multiple others. Further project partners involve NGO’s, Dutch government and the OWF industry.

Broadly, NO-REGRETS will generate and integrate knowledge on how OWFs and other activities may interact to cause: i) changes in physical dynamics of water currents, nutrient availability, plankton, benthic organisms and upper trophic levels (fish and mammals) to understand marine food web impacts, ii) changes in ecology at OWFs and other factors (e.g. changes in fisheries, and ongoing and future climate impacts), and iii) cumulative impacts on natural capital including ecosystem services. 12 PhDs will work on this project. PhDs from various backgrounds will actively collaborate.

About your No-REGRETS subproject

Your research will focus on the benthic community food web and investigate the interaction of OWFs’ biofouling communities and plankton in the North Sea. The development of OWFs introduces significant amounts of artificial hard substrates into environments that mostly consist of soft sediments. These structures create surfaces for marine fouling communities to establish, attracting a variety of epifauna species.

The introduction of OWFs also changes local food webs. The shift in species composition and the way organic matter is processed alters ecosystem dynamics. Most of the organisms that attach to these structures feed by filtering particles from the water, including phytoplankton and zooplankton. This could alter primary productivity and change the settlement of planktonic larvae. By removing organic and inorganic materials from the water, these communities influence the functioning of the seabed ecosystem. Filter feeders may compete with pelagic grazers such as copepods and juvenile fish, which rely on the same zooplankton for food. Little is known about the extent of this overlap or the broader, long-term effects.

You will study the feeding preferences of three dominant fouling species groups—blue mussels, amphipods, and anemones—by offering them mixed wild plankton and using manual counts and advanced imaging tools to quantify plankton consumption. This will help assess potential competition with zooplankton communities.

OWFs also alter water flow, vertical mixing, and temperature distribution in the water column. Combined with the effects of climate change, this could shift temperature patterns and influence the feeding behaviour of fouling communities. You will explore these changes by studying mixed communities grown on experimental structures at different depths within OWFs. You will analyse these to understand how feeding strategies adapt under varying conditions and to determine their broader ecological impact across the North Sea.

Your qualities

  • A Master’s degree (or will graduate before appointment date) in Biology, Marine Biology, Ecology, Environmental Science, or a related field with demonstrated experience in ecological field experiments and quantitative data analysis;
  • Strong interest in Marine ecology and multidisciplinary research;
  • Experience with sea going fieldwork and ecological experiments;
  • A real team player, willing to work with a diverse group of researchers, technicians and project stakeholders with various backgrounds;
  • Strong quantitative skills and preferably technical skills;
  • Ability to work independently in a challenging environment;
  • A proactive, inquisitive, enthusiastic, creative and self-reliant mind-set;
  • Strongly motivated to obtain a PhD degree;
  • Interested in getting involved in teaching;
  • Excellent English language proficiency (a minimum of CEFR C2 level).

You will work here

You will be part of the Wageningen Marine Research (WMR), with Joop Coolen and Ninon Mavraki of the theme team benthos as daily supervisors, and you are part of the Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Marine Ecology team led by Associate Professor Marjolijn Christianen at WUR. Your base will be WMR Den Helder, with fieldwork in the North Sea. Regular in-person meetings will take place in Den Helder and Wageningen.

WMR is an applied research institute with 3 locations (Den Helder, Ijmuiden and Yerseke) in the Netherlands. In Den Helder a broad group of scientists, analysts, field workers and students work on benthic ecology, seals, seabirds, bats and other species. Research areas in Den Helder include coastal and offshore North Sea, tropics and (ant)arctic regions. In addition to ecological research, we advise the government regarding protection of species and habitats, pollution, and other anthropogenic interactions with ecology, and collaborate with industry, i.a., to study nature inclusive designs. Facilities in Den Helder, in addition to offices, include a benthic lab, eco-analysis lab, climate rooms, mesocosms and algae culture facilities. Additionally, we have an experimental hard substrate garden in the marina on the island of Texel. The NO-REGRETS project has a strong offshore data collection component, and you are expected to take part in six 10 to 20 day scientific research cruises at sea, three times during 2 years (2026-2027). Additionally, there may be further cruises in collaboration with the offshore wind industry.

Do you want more information?

For more information about:

  • this position, and to apply, go to the vacancy page or contact Joop Coolen, senior scientist benthic ecology, joop.coolen@wur.nl, +31 (0)613005630, or Marjolijn Christianen, Associate Professor Marine Ecology, marjolijn.christianen@wur.nl.
  • the procedure, please contact Noorien Abbas, corporate recruiter, noorien.abbas@wur.nl.

This vacancy will be listed up to and including Monday, 23 June 2025. We aim to schedule the first job interviews on 8 July 2025.