Jim van Belzen

I study the effect of climate change and sea level rise on coastal ecosystems, such as tidal marshes and reefs. These areas are home to animal species known as ‘ecosystem engineers’. By building structures, they adapt and mitigate their own living conditions. Think of coral reefs and mussel beds in shallow water and salt-loving plants in mudflat areas. Their responses to climate change therefore determine, in part, how stable and resilient these coastal systems are. This is also important for people who live on the coast: they are often very dependent on a stable ecosystem in coastal waters because of the services and products it provides, such as coastal protection and food.