Changes in benthic communities (esp. meiofauna) in response to environmental change; individual and collective effects of natural and man-made pressures on ecosystems and biodiversity; policy-science interface.
Michaela is a Senior Marine Ecologist in the Cefas Biodiversity Science Team and Science Leader of the Environment & Ecosystems Division. She has 14 years post-doctoral experience in marine ecology, specialising in the effects of environmental change on the composition, structure and function of marine ecosystems. Her research involves multidisciplinary field surveys and experiments in the laboratory and the field assessing the response of benthic assemblages (esp. meiofauna) to natural and anthropogenic disturbance. Michaela has significant experience and involvement in international and national fora. She chaired the ICES Study Group on Biodiversity Science between 2007 and 2009 and has been a member of the related Working Group since. Michaela is a Scientific advisor to Defra on biodiversity-related issues in relation to the delivery of a UK network of Marine Protected Areas.
Selected Publications
Schratzberger M, Forster RM, Goodsir F, Jennings S (2008). Nematode community dynamics over an annual production cycle in the central North Sea. Marine Environmental Research 66: 508-519
Schratzberger M, Lampadariou N, Somerfield PJ, Vandepitte L, Vanden Berghe E (2009). The impact of seabed disturbance on nematode communities: linking field and laboratory observations. Marine Biology 156: 709-724
Sapp M, Parker R, Teal L, Schratzberger M (2010). Advancing understanding of biogeography-diversity relationships of benthic microorganisms in the North Sea. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 74(2): 410-429
Schratzberger M (2012). On the relevance of meiobenthic research for policy-makers. Marine Pollution Bulletin 64: 2639-2644
Schratzberger M, Larcombe P (in press). Combining the sciences of marine sedimentology and meiofauna can offer new insights into the links between marine sediments, sedimentary processes and animals. PLoS ONE