Coordinators
Emmy Cooper-Young
Emmy Cooper-Young, a second year PhD student, is researching the environmental preferences of Ostrea edulis in wild and restored reefs, to optimise site selection decisions in restoration. Working across a wide geographic range from Orkney, Scotland, all the way to Gibraltar in the Mediterranean, on a multi-partner project. Emmy has previously worked with the species as a core project team member on the community-inspired Restoration Forth project, and through her taught and research Master of Science degrees.’
Silvia Sánchez-Segarra
silvia.sanchez.segarra@ieo.csic.es
Silvia Sánchez-Segarra is a predoctoral researcher at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO-CSIC), based at the Oceanographic Centre of Murcia, Spain. She is a marine biologist with a background in environmental sciences and holds master’s degrees in Marine Biology and in Protected Areas, Natural Resources and Biodiversity. Her doctoral research focuses on bivalve energetic physiology, bioextraction and nature-based restoration, with particular emphasis on the flat oyster Ostrea edulis in eutrophic coastal lagoons. Her work combines field experiments, hatchery production, laboratory exposure assays and physiological measurements to assess bioremediation capacity under pollution gradients. Silvia actively contributes to national and European research projects related to marine restoration and conservation and is engaged in scientific outreach and early-career researcher networking through the NORA Student Group.
Davide Carratù
Davide Carratù, a PhD student at OGS (Italian National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics) and the University of Trieste, is conducting research within the ECHO (modelling) group. His work focuses on the restoration of the European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) in the Adriatic Sea. He is developing a larval growth module, based in a three-dimensional Lagrangian model (LTRANS–Zlev), that forced by hydrodynamic fields and including vertical behavior, will be able to predict larval transport pathways and potential settlement areas, highlighting the dispersion of the larvae and possible connectivity among different sites. The model outputs will support management actions such as optimal placement of settlement substrates, identification of sensitive areas requiring protection from bottom trawling, and the development of a complementary model to assess substrate suitability and proximity. A distinctive aspect of the research is the integration of numerical modelling with fieldwork, including participation in monitoring campaigns involving water and sediment sampling, eDNA analyses, and ROV-based seabed surveys.
Patrick Kut
Patrick Kut is a microbial ecologist and biogeochemist investigating how restored oyster reefs may serve as a nature-based solution for nutrient pollution. Currently studying with the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Universiteit Utrecht, Patrick completed his M.S. in molecular biology at Arizona State University. There he studied microbial dynamics in dryland ecosystems, skills which he applies to furthering our understanding of oyster reef ecosystems.
Introduction
By the beginning of 2024, the NORA student group was launched. The aim of this group is to enhance and strengthen the collaboration between students of all educational levels (bachelor, master, PhD, PGR) working in the field of European oysters.
We’re hoping to create a friendly and accessible platform for all students and early career researchers working on and around native oysters to meet, exchange ideas and feel more actively represented within the NORA community.
We will be scheduling regular meetings throughout the year, where students will have the opportunity to meet one another, share their own research, and learn from other students and guest speakers.
If you are interested in joining the mailing list, learning more, or contributing to the Student Working Group of NORA, please contact Emmy Cooper-Young at students@noraeurope.eu.