Challenging the impact of climate change on our oceans
PhD candidate Imogen Bunting is standing up for the health of our oceans with her research into the response of giant kelp to marine heatwaves, and how they might be bred to resist the effects of climate change.
Originally from Auckland, Imogen chose to study towards her PhD in Wellington after her undergraduate studies gave her a taste of a range of subjects—from Biology and Environmental Science, to English and Spanish. When it came to her PhD though, she found it easy to decide where her real passion lay—and she relocated to Wellington earlier this year to pursue her PhD with supervisor Dr Christopher Cornwall at the Wellington University Coastal Ecology Laboratory.
“I've always been really fascinated by conservation, and during my undergraduate studies I realised that I found the marine side of things the most interesting. There's a lot of important marine species that are still quite underrepresented within scientific research, so I think it’s a really worthwhile field to be a part of.”
Imogen’s PhD research looks at the impact of marine heat waves on giant kelp—an important rimurimu (seaweed) species for several reasons, including biodiversity, as they provide both habitat and food for other ocean dwellers. Imogen is quick to point out their array of talents—especially when it comes to their impact on the land around them.
“They provide refuge for a lot of fish and invertebrates, including a lot of fishery species—and they also have other environmental benefits, like absorbing carbon, and protecting coastal areas from storm damage by dampening waves. They really impact the environment around them a lot. Plus, they're also just generally very cool.”
The absorption of carbon is one area where Imogen explains kelp forests have a major impact on our climate: “If we lose kelp forests, we also lose the carbon that they're able to absorb from the atmosphere.”
With a decline in giant kelp already being seen in areas of the South Island, and anecdotal evidence of impacts on our giant kelp in Wellington Harbour, Imogen’s research will shed light on the ways scientists may be able to improve their resistance against warming oceans.
“I'm taking baby seaweeds that have been have collected at NIWA and using a system of heaters and coolers attached to the tanks at the Marine Lab to subject the seaweeds to simulated marine heat waves. I'll be looking at the difference between the effect of a three-week heat wave versus a six-week heat wave, and at heat waves of different temperatures. Basically, seeing how that impacts plant growth rates, pigment concentration, respiration, and photosynthetic rates.
“I'm looking at which plants are the most resilient—so investigating kelp from different regions around New Zealand to work out which ones are potentially more vulnerable to climate change, and following on from that, I'll be looking at whether heat resilience is heritable in kelp. So how easy it would be to selectively breed for resilience.”
Imogen is optimistic about the future of giant kelp, and grateful for the support of her co-supervisor Dr Roberta D'Archino from NIWA, and from the Mountains to Sea trust.
“It's pretty incredible how fast giant kelp can grow. Even little baby plants grow about a centimetre a week, which I think is pretty impressive. That gives me hope for their future resilience.
“I’m excited to be conducting research that contributes to the health of our oceans, I want to stand up for the future of giant kelp forests around New Zealand.”
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