Description

The PhD project aims to enhance the sustainability and resilience of pond aquaculture systems under climate change by shifting from pond-scale optimization to territorial management. The project integrates participatory co-design, multi-scale modelling (bioeconomic, hydrological, ecological), and multi-criteria evaluation to develop innovative management scenarios. Embedded in the CEDRE project, the PhD project contributes to the design of integrated livestock systems by incorporating aquaculture into territorial agroecological frameworks. The PhD will develop models simulating water, nutrient, and biodiversity flows across pond networks and evaluate their performance under environmental and economic constraints. The results will provide decision-support tools for stakeholders and contribute to sustainable aquaculture development in Eastern France and beyond.

Skills required

sciences, agronomy, or a related field. The desired skills and interests are: • Knowledge in mechanistic modelling, statistics, SIG, and/or socio-technical/systems analysis • Strong interest in interdisciplinary research • Interest in participatory approaches and stakeholder engagement • Ability to work in an international and collaborative environment

Bibliography

Lecocq, T., Amoussou, N., Aubin, J., Butruille, G., Liarte, S., Pasquet, A., & Thomas, M. (2024). Stronger together: A workflow to design new fish polycultures. Reviews in Aquaculture, 16(3), 1374–1394. https://doi.org/10.1111/raq.12903
Thomas, M., Pasquet, A., Aubin, J., Nahon, S., & Lecocq, T. (2021). When more is more: taking advantage of species diversity to move towards sustainable aquaculture. Biological Reviews, 96(2), 767–784. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12677
Ralien P.R., Larivain A., Roucaute M., Corson M.S., Pannard A., Robin J., Girard L., Guérin M., Rouifed S., Thomas M., Lecocq T., Coudreuse J., Nahon S., Kabir K.A., Aubin J., 2026. Effects of farming practices on the performance of fish pond polyculture assessed by trophic modelling. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society. (Accepted)

Keywords

Aqauculture, modelling