While finishing my PhD project on coral reef ecosystems, I am diving into two new topics: 1) the molecular intricacy of foraminifera and how it evolves through space, time and symbiosis, and 2) establishing a baseline of the micro-benthic community in the North Sea prior to the construction of a Dutch 'nature-friendly' offshore wind park. I am very excited to discover what hides below the waves, on the seafloor of the North Sea.
Keywords
Large Benthic Foraminifera, Metabarcoding, Whole Genome Sequencing, Coral Reef, North Sea
Researchfocus
From coral reef foraminifera from Indonesia to the North Sea, I am driven towards better understanding the intricacy of the foram genome and how it varies across species, symbiosis and ecosystems.
During my studies, I had the opportunity to conduct fieldwork in the Maldives and Indonesia; two journeys that opened my eyes to coral reef ecosystems. After developing methods to assess reef foraminifera community composition using metabarcoding, I am keen to dive into a new ecosystem: the North Sea.
Currenttopics
- Understanding the molecular evolution and diversity of Foraminifera
- Assessing the baseline of North Sea micro-benthic communities
Ecology of large benthic foraminifera
Impact of urbanisation on coral reef ecosystems
Naturalis will monitor natuur inclusive wind park "Noordzeker"
Publications
Duijser, C.M., van Oostveen, R.S., Girard, E.B., Renema, W., Wilken, S., 2025. Light and temperature niches of the large benthic foraminifer Heterostegina depressa. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 313, 109075.
Girard, E.B., Didaskalou, E.A., Pratama, A.M.A., Rattner, C., Morard, R., Renema, W., 2024. Quantitative assessment of reef foraminifera community from metabarcoding data. Mol. Ecol. Resour. 24, e14000.
Girard, E.B., Renema, W., 2024. Watching out for coral reefs with forams. Front. Young Minds 12.
Macher, J.-N., Coots, N.L., Poh, Y.-P., Girard, E.B., Langerak, A., Muñoz-Gómez, S.A., Sinha, S.D., Jirsová, D., Vos, R., Wissels, R., Gile, G.H., Renema, W., Wideman, J.G., 2023. Single-Cell Genomics Reveals the Divergent Mitochondrial Genomes of Retaria (Foraminifera and Radiolaria). MBio 14, e0030223.
Macher, J.-N., Bloska, D.M., Holzmann, M., Girard, E.B., Pawlowski, J., Renema, W., 2022. Mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) metabarcoding of Foraminifera communities using taxon-specific primers. PeerJ 10, e13952.
Girard, E.B., Macher, J.-N., Jompa, J., Renema, W., 2022. COI metabarcoding of large benthic Foraminifera: Method validation for application in ecological studies. Ecol. Evol. 12, e9549.
Girard, E.B., Langerak, A., Jompa, J., Wangensteen, O.S., Macher, J.-N., Renema, W., 2022. Mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit 1: A Promising Molecular Marker for Species Identification in Foraminifera. Front. Mar. Sci. 9.
Girard, E.B., Estradivari, Ferse, S., Ambo-Rappe, R., Jompa, J., Renema, W., 2022. Dynamics of large benthic foraminiferal assemblages: A tool to foreshadow reef degradation? Sci. Total Environ. 811, 151396.
Macher, J.-N., Wideman, J.G., Girard, E.B., Langerak, A., Duijm, E., Jompa, J., Sadekov, A., Vos, R., Wissels, R., Renema, W., 2021. First report of mitochondrial COI in foraminifera and implications for DNA barcoding. Sci. Rep. 11, 1–9.
Girard, E.B., Kaliwoda, M., Schmahl, W.W., Wörheide, G., Orsi, W.D., 2020. Biodegradation of textile waste by marine bacterial communities enhanced by light. Environ. Microbiol. Rep. 12, 406–418.
Girard, E.B., Fuchs, A., Kaliwoda, M., Lasut, M., Ploetz, E., Schmahl, W.W., Wörheide, G., 2020. Sponges as bioindicators for microparticulate pollutants? Environ. Pollut. 268, 115851.