Nicole Foster, first researcher at CEAB-CSIC to receive a Junior Leader grant from the “la Caixa” Foundation

The scholarship will allow Nicole to extend her work at GAME for three more years. Her research focuses on the development of a methodology for Environmental DNA (eDNA) to monitor the biodiversity associated with the seagrass ecosystemsboth currently and over time. The aim of their research is to develop a set of tools based on eDNA that allows generating historical baselines to report on current efforts to restore seagrass meadows, as well as to develop methods to integrate eDNA into accounting frameworks with a view to its use in markets for credit of a natural nature.

In the words of the researcher herself, the Junior Leader grant from “la Caixa” is “an extraordinary opportunity to consolidate my research in Europe” and offers “the platform to develop myself as an independent researcher and strengthen collaborations with leading teams in environmental and marine sciences in Spain and Europe.”

GAME and research on blue carbon and seagrass meadows

The group GAME Conduct research on coastal ecosystems dominated by aquatic macrophytes, with a background linked to the study of the seagrasses and their role in long-term ecological processes, including the carbon dynamics in sediments associated with species such as Posidonia oceanicaThe group was formed at the CEAB‑CSIC and maintains an established line of research in the ecology and paleoecology of the seagrasses.

The awarding of this scholarship strengthens the team's ability to continue developing tools that connect science, conservation and decision-makingIn a context where a robust measurement of biodiversity is key to assessing the state of ecosystems and the effectiveness of restoration actions.