Claudia’s research focuses on stress eco-physiology, and various aspects of primary producers’ responses to the environment, aiming to reveal traits that permit cryptogams (mainly lichens and mosses) to exist and persist in polar terrestrial habitats. Her research investigates fundamental questions in the biology of lichens, such as their acclimation potential to changing environmental conditions. She is working on research projects in both poles (Arctic and Antarctic) in collaboration with Antarctica New Zealand, the Spanish Antarctic Programme, the British Antarctic Survey and the British Ecological Society. In particular, Claudia’s research aims to assess:

• long-term changes in vegetation cover in response to a changing climate.
• temperature thresholds for locally adapted vegetation and their acclimation potential.

Read more about Claudia’s research via Cryptogamiacs.

“I want to secure Antarctica’s environmental future because Antarctica’s rare ecosystem need a strong voice and protection.”

— Dr Claudia Colesie