As part of the Transforming Trinity’s Herbarium Project, three fully funded PhD positions are being advertised by Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin today. These PhDs have been developed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) in close collaboration with academic staff from Trinity and are funded by the University. They will aim to address pressing conservation research questions and will contribute new knowledge to understudied habitats in Ireland. Ultimately, the knowledge gained from the PhDs will assist the NPWS in protecting threatened habitats in Ireland.
The NPWS is providing funding of €1.5 million to Trinity from 2023-2031. This has allowed the college to upgrade its herbarium to a modern research facility and to begin the process of digitising its half a million specimens by 2031. Its specimens and the irreplaceable data they hold is now being made online to scientists and the public, in Ireland and beyond.
Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan said
Today is the next step in this positive collaboration between the NPWS and Trinity College Dublin. To protect our biodiversity it is essential that government bodies and scientists work together on projects like this that aim to enhance our understanding of rare and threatened species. The three fully funded PhD studentships will focus on species-rich meadow grasslands, river communities of high conservation value and an invasive species of cordgrass. The insights gained will be invaluable to the NPWS in different ways. The research on meadows and river communities will assist the NPWS in identifying appropriate conservation measures to protect and restore these threatened habitats. The research on the invasive cordgrass will inform future management strategies to combat its spread and negative impact on a number of coastal habitats. I am looking forward to the contributions of these PhDs to the natural sciences and to the work of NPWS.
Director General of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Niall O’Donnchu, said
The NPWS is delighted to support this partnership with Trinity College. This collaboration provides a strong link between the work of NPWS and the research community. The findings from the 3 PhD studentships research will assist the NPWS as part of its remit to provide excellent scientific advice that supports the protection of nature. This partnership is also ensuring the modernisation of Trinity’s Herbarium so it can be enjoyed too by future generations and by anyone with an interest in science and nature!
Dr Peter Moonlight, assistant curator of the herbarium and an assistant professor in Trinity’s School of Natural Sciences said: “to conserve our Natural heritage we rely upon data – what grows and lives where, and how do we conserve it? We are only now recognising the value of our herbarium data, collected over centuries, helping us answer these modern-day problems”
PhD studentship The Ecology and fluvial geomorphology of Ireland’s Annex 1 Watercourses
PhD studentship on Native Irish grasslands
The PhD studentships are fully funded for 4 years and the advertisements are published on Trinity’s website.