Alice Klopp

With a passion for marine chemical ecology, I began my PhD in November 2025 to study chemical defence mechanisms and gain a better understanding of the role of specialised metabolites – both volatile and non-volatile – in Mediterranean seagrass beds in response to herbivory. My research is structured around three objectives:

• To characterise the specialised volatile and non-volatile metabolites produced by seagrass beds in response to herbivory, using analytical chemistry techniques (PTR-ToF-MS, GC-MS) and metabolomics (UHPLC-qTOF-MS).
• To assess the influence of specialised metabolites on herbivore behaviour through choice, attraction and repulsion experiments.
• To assess the ecological role of these compounds in plant–herbivore interactions and their importance for the functioning and resilience of Mediterranean seagrass beds in the face of environmental change.