Verdura, Jana

Jana Verdura is a postdoctoral JdC researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences of Barcelona, from the Spanish Research Council (ICM-CSIC). I am interested in investigating the most important factors and processes determining the resistance and resilience of marine forest ecosystems to different stressors with the aim of designing optimized and successful restoration and conservation plans. By following a multidisciplinary approach, in which I combine natural surveys by SCUBA diving, both field and laboratory manipulative experiments, laboratory analysis, and modeling approaches, I try to understand different questions related to understanding 1) the dynamic of these communities, 2) how different stressors, acting at local to global scales, such as climate change, invasive species, herbivory or pollution, and its possible interaction can affect these communities, 3) evaluate the processes and recovery mechanisms of these key species’ populations to the different perturbances, 4) characterize the adaptative potential of these species to ongoing and future climate change, and 5) develop nature-based solutions (e.g. non-invasive and cost-effective restoration methods) for the restoration and conservation of these habitats.

In June 2021 she defended her PhD focused on the response of Mediterranean macroalgal populations to chronic gradual warming and acute marine heatwaves, as well as on the design of new non-invasive restoration methodologies for the recovery of these historically threatened ecosystems. After her PhD, Jana did a postdoc in ECOSEAS Laboratory at the University of Côte d’Azur, France. Here, she contributed to the AFRIMED EU and Forescue Biodiversa+ projects, concentrating on understanding various impacts on macroalgal forests. She also explored into the application of both traditional and innovative technologies for mapping and monitor shallow marine communities. Furthermore, her work extended to engaging with stakeholders to drive conservation and restoration efforts of these habitats. Prior to her PhD, Jana actively participated in diverse projects focused on studying biodiversity of coralligenous communities and their response to global change across large spatial and mid to long-term temporal scales.

Selected articles:

• Verdura J; Santamaría J; Ballesteros E; Smale DA; Cefalì ME; Golo R; Caralt S; Vergés A; Cebrian E (2021). Local-scale climatic refugia offer sanctuary for a habitat-forming species during a marine heatwave. Journal of Ecology 109 (4): 1758-1773.
• de Caralt S; Verdura J; Vergés A; Ballesteros E; Cebrian E (2020). Differential effects of pollution on adult and recruits in a canopy-forming alga, implications for population viability. Scientific Reports, 10:17825.
• Verdura J; Linares C; Ballesteros E; Coma E; Uriz I; Bensoussan N; Emma C (2019). Biodiversity loss in a Mediterranean ecosystem due to an extreme warming event unveils the role of an engineering gorgonian species. Scientific reports 9:5911.
  Verdura J; Sales M; Ballesteros E; Cefalì ME; Cebrian E (2018). Restoration of a canopy-forming alga based on recruitment enhancement: methods and longterm success assessment. Frontiers in Plant Sciences 9:1832.

Contact: jana.verdura@udg.edu
Web: www.marineforest.com
Twitter: @Jana_Verdura, @marineforesTeam, @GRMAR_UdG
Instagram: marineforests
Reserchgate: Jana Verdura