lsnieves@ualg.pt

 

 

 

Laura Sordo - PhD Candidate

Laura Sordo is a world citizen originally from Spain. In 2003, she majored in biology with a specialty in oceanography and chemistry at Old Dominion University, USA. In 2006, she won a scholarship to carry on her master's degree in Brazil. At the Federal University of Paraná, she specialized in coastal and marine ecosystems. Her thesis was an interdisciplinary study on the ecology of seagrass meadows at their southernmost distribution limit in the south-western Atlantic. After finishing her master's, she investigated the surface interactions of the epiphytic algae, Hincksia mitchelliae, with the seagrass, Halodule wrightii, at the University of Florence in Italy. In 2011, she started working as a research technician at the Centre of Marine Sciences, in Portugal, where she built a novel experimental design to mimic ocean acidification (OA). In 2012, she won a FCT doctoral grant and is currently doing research on the effect of OA on the calcification, photosynthesis and metabolism of coralline algae. Her research interests focus on understanding the effect of global warming and ocean acidification on coastal and marine ecosystems from regional to global scales. She believes that an interdisciplinary approach, together with effective international collaborations, is the key to solve complex ecological problems.