Thesis nailing ceremony: Chiara D'Agata
- Date
- 5 June 2026, 11:00–11:30
- Location
- Campus Gotland, Almedalen Library
- Type
- Academic ceremony
- Organiser
- Department of Earth Sciences, GRASS
- Contact person
- Chiara D'Agata
You are warmly invited to attend Chiara D'Agata's thesis nailing ceremony, when she will present her thesis titled 'Perspectives on coastal vegetated habitats: Integrating ecological dynamics, historical use, and fishers’ ecological knowledge'.
Chiara D’Agata’s thesis examines how coastal vegetated habitats, particularly Submersed Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) such as seagrasses and pondweeds, shape and are shaped by social and ecological dimensions across time. SAV provides essential shelter and food for marine organisms, while supporting key ecological processes such as nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration. These habitats are also important for humans as they provide key ecosystem services such as food provision through fisheries, which has connected people to coastal environments for more than 100,000 years. Focusing on the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, the thesis combines ecological, archaeological, and social scientific methods to develop a holistic understanding of coastal vegetated habitat dynamics.
In the Baltic Sea, eutrophication (excessive nutrient input) promotes the growth of filamentous algae, which can outcompete SAV for light and nutrients. Rising densities of three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus), a mesopredator fish, may further intensify these effects by reducing populations of invertebrate grazers that normally limit algal growth. Using shallow bays around Gotland (Sweden) in the central Baltic Sea, the thesis analyses how SAV and drifting filamentous algae shape invertebrate communities and the occurrence of juvenile and adult sticklebacks. The work also investigates the long-term human use of SAV and other aquatic habitats for fishing on Gotland from the Mesolithic to the Middle Ages, and evaluates researcher-driven photo elicitation, the use of photographic material during interviews, as a method to facilitate access to fishers’ ecological knowledge of coastal habitats on the island of Salina (Italy) in the Mediterranean Sea.
The thesis is rooted in ecological approaches, but expands this perspective by integrating social and historical dimensions into the study of coastal ecosystems. The findings show that shifts from large, canopy-forming SAV to drifting filamentous algae would likely restructure faunal communities, creating potential “winners” such as grazing gastropods and juvenile sticklebacks and “losers” at the level of the overall community of associated invertebrates, which could result to altered grazing dynamics and energy transfer to higher trophic levels. The thesis also demonstrates the long-term importance of SAV for human populations on Gotland across time, which helps challenging assumptions about “pristine” aquatic habitats. Using researcher-driven photo elicitation helped accessing tacit dimensions of fishers’ ecological knowledge and improve accuracy during the interviews, revealing a rich understanding of the functions and dynamics of coastal habitats, including endemic SAV. Overall, the work contributes to advancing holistic approaches for understanding and managing coastal vegetated habitats under anthropogenic change.
Thesis nailing
The thesis nailing ceremony will take place on Friday 5 June, 11:00-11:30, in the research gallery on the second floor of the Almedalen Library.
Everyone is welcome to attend.
Photo: Daniel Olsson
Thesis defence
The thesis defence will take place on Friday 28 August, 9:00-11:00, in lecture hall E22, and via Zoom: https://uu-se.zoom.us/j/64506537148.