The PhD course in "Environmental Life Sciences" is jointly offered by the Universities of Trieste and the University of Udine. It covers a wide range of scientific topics related to the ongoing environmental life researches at the two universities, main focuses on terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

The possible field works for the PhD students span over a large array of ecosystems from the deep sea in Antarctica to the alpine peaks, passing through plains, rivers and lagoons, considering also safety issues both for humans and the environment.

PhD students will find a dynamic and multidisciplinary environment that will promote both basic (e.g. marine protist metagenomics, molecular systematics, plant/environment interactions, safety assessment) and applied research (e.g. green technologies, ecological engineering and environmental biomonitoring).

The PhD Course aims to prepare well-qualified scientists able to critically manage the implementation of EU and national regulations concerning with environmental analysis and to autonomously develop research activities in the field of environment. Potential job placements are mainly in the research field at national or international universities, at public or private research institutions, both in marine and terrestrial environmental sciences. The relevant interdisciplinary approach characterizing this PhD course allow the training of new and complete professional figures with the expertise in multidisciplinary scientific issues.

Methodologies learnt during the PhD course can be apply to complex themes like:

- effects of global change on different natural or man-managed ecosystems (e.g. deep ocean, alpine peaks, agro-ecosystems, forestry, and so on);

- the biodiversity role in maintaining ecosystem efficiency and goods and service production;

- the onset of new pollution sources, the appearance of new pollutants and their effects on organisms, the management of new productive close – loop systems;

- the digitalization of environmental data to spreading them to the public for stimulating a general increase in the ecological awareness.

The course is focused on both theoretical and experimental activities. It includes the following ERC research areas:

Terrestrial ecology, land cover change (PE10_4);

Biogeochemistry, biogeochemical cycles, environmental chemistry (PE10_9);

Soil science (PE10_13);

Ecology (theoretical and experimental; population, species and community level) (LS8_1);

Biodiversity, conservation biology, conservation genetics, invasion biology (LS8_4);

Evolutionary biology: evolutionary ecology and genetics, co-evolution (LS8_5);

Environmental and marine biology (LS8_8);

Environmental toxicology at the population and ecosystems level (LS8_9);

Microbial ecology and evolution (LS8_10);

Agriculture related to animal husbandry, dairying, livestock raising (LS9_3);

Agriculture related to crop production, soil biology and cultivation, applied plant biology (LS9_5);

Population biology, population dynamics, population genetics (LS8_2);

Genetics, Genomics, Bioinformatics and Systems Biology (LS2).

Lines of research:

• ecology and ecophysiology of marine, fresh water, terrestrial and agricultural ecosystems;
• global change biology and management of natural and agricultural ecosystems;
• biodiversity informatics, genetics and conservation;
• eco- and human toxicology and bioremediation.