dr. L (Linda) Tonk

Linda is a marine scientist with a background in blue-green algae toxicology and coral reef ecology with extensive field experience in the Netherlands, Caribbean and on the Great Barrier Reef. She received her Master of Science in Marine Biology from the University of Groningen and completed her PhD at the department of Aquatic Microbiology, University of Amsterdam on: “The impact of environmental factors on toxic and bioactive peptide production by harmful cyanobacteria”. Algae cultivation and upscaling were a large part of her duties. For six years she worked as a post-doc at the Global Change Institute, University of Queensland, Australia where her research focused on the coral-algal symbiosis in relation to environmental factors and she leads a large database effort to map the diversity and variation in coral-algal symbioses across the Great Barrier Reef (www.SymbioGBR.org). In addition she worked for the Catlin Seaview Survey, a study that aims to document the health and composition of the world’s coral reefs and making it accessible to the public via Google Oceans street view (catlinseaviewsurvey.com). At Wageningen Marine Research she is currently working on ecosystem effects of aquaculture (shellfish, crayfish and seaweed) with a focus on ecosystem interactions. Additionally Linda works on several oyster restoration projects with a focus on sustainability and multi-use in OWF’s on the North Sea.