Position: Postdoctoral fellow
SZN Dept: Research Infrastructures for marine biological resources
Email: alice.blanckaert(at)szn.it
Telephone: +39 081 5833 683
Twitter: @Aliceblnck
Web: SZN webpage
Web: Google scholar
Personal keywords: #Symbiosis, #MarineEcology, #Nutrientcycling
Scientific interests in a nutshell:
My main research interest focuses on marine symbiosis. I am particularly interested in understanding how the partners interact within the holobiont (host and symbiont unit) and in relation to the environment, especially in a changing environment (in the context of climate change). During my PhD, I primarily investigated the interaction between the coral host and its associated dinoflagellate. In particular, I focused on how nutrient availability and environmental changes could affect their association. Now, I am looking at the relationship between benthic primary producers, invertebrates, and microbes. I am investigating gas fluxes between the different organisms using dissolved gas measurements and developing mesocosm experiments to assess host – microbe interactions.
Selected publications:
Blanckaert ACA, Biscéré T, Grover R, Ferrier-Pagès C (2023) Species-specific response of corals to imbalanced ratios of inorganic nutrients. International Journal of Molecular Science, 24:3119
Blanckaert ACA, Grover R, Marcus M-I, Ferrier-Pagès C (2023) Nutrient starvation and nitrate pollution impairs the assimilation of dissolved organic phosphorus in coral-Symbiodiniaceae symbiosis. Science of The Total Environment, 858:159944
Blanckaert ACA, Omanović D, Fine M, Grover R, Ferrier-Pagès C (2022) Desert dust deposition supplies essential bioelements to Red Sea corals. Global Change Biology, 28:2341–2359
Blanckaert ACA, de Barros Marangoni LF, Rottier C, Grover R, Ferrier-Pagès C (2021) Low levels of ultra-violet radiation mitigate the deleterious effects of nitrate and thermal stress on coral photosynthesis. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 167:112257
Blanckaert ACA, Reef R, Pandolfi JM, Lovelock CE (2020) Variation in the elemental stoichiometry of the coral–zooxanthellae symbiosis. Coral Reefs, 39:1071–1079