I work mainly with phytoplankton, including both cyanobacteria and eukaryotic species. I am interested in cyanobacterial blooms / toxic potential (restoring lake biodiversity in the context of blooms could be an interesting research idea for this call). I also aim to understand how different phytoplankton groups are affected by global change (warming, elevated CO2) and what the broader implications are for ecosystems and society. To do this, I adapt phytoplankton strains over many generations (hundreds, even thousands) to specific conditions, such as increased temperature or CO2 levels, and then test their responses within natural communities using mesocosm experiments.
Selected papers:
Briddon et al., 2025. Quantifying evolutionary changes to temperature-CO2 growth response surfaces in Skeletonema marinoi after adaptation to extreme conditions. ISME Communications (in press) Briddon et al, 2023. Long-term exposure to elevated temperature leads to altered gene expression in a common bloom-forming cyanobacterium. Limnology and Oceanography, 68 (12): 2654-2667. Briddon et al., 2022. The combined impact of low temperatures and shifting phosphorus availability on the competitive ability of cyanobacteria. Scientific Reports, 12 (1): 1-13. Drugă B et al., 2022. Long-term acclimation might enhance the growth and competitive ability of Microcystis aeruginosa in warm environments. Freshwater Biology, 67 (4): 589-602.
Biology of interactions
Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Microbiology
A project targeting restoration of aquatic environments (freshwater or marine), with a focus (on my side) on phytoplankton. As an alternative, a project tackling cyanobacterial blooms control.
SEFS 14, Bolu, Turkey (July 2025) 5th International Conference on Community Ecology, Budapest, Hungary (September 2025) CEESME Thessaloniki, (September 2025)