PhD defence on marine fish diversity patterns, drivers and underlying processes

Biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate due to anthropogenic pressures such as climate change and overexploitation. EU has a target of protecting 30% of marine areas by 2030 to support biodiversity. To make the right decisions about where to locate protected areas, it is necessary to have models that can predict the expected development of the ecosystems.

In his PhD project at DTU Aqua, Marcel Montanyès Solé has investigated the factors influencing marine fish communities in the North Sea and the Northeast Atlantic Ocean using statistical models. The results suggest that environmental variables linked to temperature and productivity are the primary drivers shaping these communities.

Furthermore, Marcel Montanyès Solé has explored whether these models can predict future biodiversity patterns. His findings indicate that while the models perform well in predicting certain aspects of biodiversity, such as trait composition and species presence and absence, they are less accurate in predicting taxonomic composition and biomass. Nevertheless, the model outputs provide valuable insights for management and conservation efforts, he concludes.

In his PhD thesis, Marcel Montanyès Solé also predicts present and future fish biodiversity patterns in a management scenario aiming at protecting 30% of European seas while minimizing the impact on fishing activities. The results support previous findings, which indicate that current marine protected areas are not protecting biodiversity efficiently. Moreover, his findings highlight that the impacts on fishing effort would be relatively small and mostly concentrated in the North Sea, as it is a highly fished sea.

About the defence

Marcel Montanyès Solé will defend his PhD thesis "Marine fish diversity patterns, drivers and underlying processes – Present status and predictions under climate change" on 14 June 2024, at 10:00-13:00. 

The defence can be followed online or at DTU Lyngby Campus (please see below).

Examiners 

• Professor Anders Nielsen, DTU Aqua (chair)
• Principal Researcher Guillem Chust, AZTI, Spain
• Professor Andrea Belgrano, SLU, Sweden

Chairperson at defence

• Senior Researcher Sigrun Huld Jonasdottir, DTU Aqua

Supervisors

• Principal supervisor: Senior Researcher Martin Lindegren, DTU Aqua
• Co-supervisor: Research Scientist Benjamin Weigel, INRAE, France

Learn more

A copy of the thesis is available for reading at DTU Aqua. Please contact PhD Coordinator Susan Zumbach Johannesen, szjo@aqua.dtu.dk