Nikolet (Nikki) Kostur

Advancing urban marine biology through shoreline defense design to host resilient biodiversity and optimise ecological performance. 

Nikki is an urban marine ecology PhD student, funded by the London NERC and based at ZSL and King’s College London. Her research investigates marine invertebrate communities on artificial coastal structures in the urban subtropics. Ultimately, she aims to develop science-backed, creative solutions that leave the world better than she found it.  

Human-made coastal structures provide habitat for marine life, but the marine invertebrate communities inhabiting them – which may provide critical functions as water purifiers, ecosystem engineers, and more – are not well understood. Through her PhD, Nikki is collecting baseline data on marine assemblages inhabiting artificial structures in Florida (including the University of Miami's SEAHIVEs) and investigating key indicators of their ecological resilience. Using information she gathers through underwater camera surveys, photogrammetry, and resilience assessments, Nikolet aims to advance the emerging field of urban marine biology by providing the science needed to A) design shoreline defenses that host resilient biodiversity and B) define and optimise these structures’ ecological performance.  

Nikolet is passionate about improving accessibility to science. She is collaborating with nonprofits and science museums to create informational videos about her work and display her research imagery, so as to educate the public about the future of marine ecology in urban coastal areas.

Check out nonprofit Shipwreck Park’s website to learn more about their educational marine park, Wahoo Bay – Nikki's primary field site in Florida and a ‘living laboratory’ that engages students and the public in urban marine ecology.