Philine Zu Ermgassen

Philine is a Nature Conservancy funded Research Associate affiliated to the Changing Oceans Group in the School of Geosciences at the University of Edinburgh. From 2010-2016 Philine was based in the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, working with The Nature Conservancy first on developing tools for using ecosystem services to set long term habitat restoration goals, then as the fisheries lead scientist on the Mapping Ocean Wealth project.

 Philine undertook her PhD on species interactions between freshwater invasive species at the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, with a focus on the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, during which she also undertook a policy placement at the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution. During her time as a postdoctoral researcher in Cambridge she enjoyed participating in college life and undergraduate teaching as a Junior Research Fellow at Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge. 

Find out more about The Nature Conservancy at www.nature.org and Mapping Ocean Wealth at www.oceanwealth.org

My research focuses on building the evidence base to support the conservation or restoration of threatened coastal habitats. By quantifying the ecosystem services associated with these critical habitats, I aim to provide practitioners and policy makers alike with the information they need to make informed decisions about conservation actions. My current work seeks to quantify the degree to which structured coastal habitats in the U.S. at as nursery grounds for fish and invertebrate species. This builds on work I have previously undertaken to quantify the ecosystem services provided by oyster reefs in the region. I also seek to support efforts to replicate the success of oyster habitat restoration in the US to the European context.

 As fisheries lead on the Mapping Ocean Wealth project, I am completing various pieces of work focussed on understanding the spatial distribution of mangrove fisheries globally and supporting ongoing work to quantify the fish production by coral reefs and off shore reefs regionally.