Dr Bingzhang Chen
Senior Lecturer
Mathematics and Statistics
Personal statement
I was trained as a field oceanographer and obtained my PhD in Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, focusing on field experiments of microzooplankton grazing and flow cytometry. Then I worked as a postdoctoral researcher working with Dr. Andrew Irwin and Zoe Finkel at Mount Alison University, Canada.
Thereafter, I worked at Xiamen University, China, and was deeply involved in a China National Basic Research Program (“973” Program) entitled “Carbon cycling in China Seas-budget, controls and ocean acidification (CHOICE-C project)”. In 2012, I was awarded the New Century Excellent Talent by the Ministry of Education of China. In 2015, I was awarded the David Cushing prize offered by the Journal of Plankton Research.
From 2015 to 2018, I worked at Japan Agency of Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) on a CREST project entitled "Developing a new marine ecosystem model to represent the adaptive capacity of plankton in the N. Pacific" (PI: S. Lan Smith) funded by Japan Science and Technology Agency.
Since 2018, I have been working as a Chancellor's Fellow at the University of Strathclyde until 2022 when I was promoted to a Senior Lecturer. Currently, I am supervising five PhD students.
I am honoured to serve as an associate editor for the journal of Limnology and Oceanography, which is the flagship journal of Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO).
Area of Expertise
Theoretical Ecology; Biological oceanography; Ecosystem modeling; R, Fortran, Matlab.
Prize And Awards
- 2015 David Cushing Prize
- Recipient
- 1/1/2016
Publications
- The immeasurable value of plankton to humanity
- Grigoratou Maria, Menden-Deuer Susanne, McQuatters-Gollop Abigail, Arhonditsis George, Artigas Luis Felipe, Ayata Sakina-Dorothée, Bedikoğlu Dalida, Beisner Beatrix E, Chen Bingzhang, Davies Claire, Diarra Lillian, Elegbeleye Owoyemi W, Everett Jason D, Garcia Tatiane M, Gentleman Wendy C, Gonçalves Rodrigo Javier, Guy-Haim Tamar, Halfter Svenja, Hinners Jana, Horaeb Richard R, Huggett Jenny A, Johnson Catherine L, Kavanaugh Maria T, Lara-Lopez Ana, Lindemann Christian, López-Abbate Celeste, Messié Monique, Möller Klas Ove, Montes Enrique, Muller-Karger Frank E, Neeley Aimee, Olaleye Yusuf, Palacz Artur P, Poulton Alex J, Prowe A E Friederike, Ratnarajah Lavenia, Rodríguez Luzmila, Rodríguez-Flórez Clara Natalia, Rodriquez-Santiago Aurea, Rousseaux Cecile S, Saad Juan Francisco, Santi Ioulia, Soccodato Alice, Stern Rowena, Våge Selina, Varkitzi Ioanna, Richardson Anthony
- BioScience (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaf049
- Mesoscale eddies drive phytoplankton-mediated biogeochemistry in the South China Sea
- Xu Wenlong, Wang Guifen, Xing Xiaogang, Cornec Marin, Hayward Alex, Chen Bingzhang, Cheng Xuhua
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences Vol 130 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2024jg008664
- Contrasting effects of temperature rise in different seasons on larger and smaller phytoplankton assemblages in a temperate coastal water, Laoshan Bay, northern Yellow Sea, China
- Zhao Wei, Liu Jihua, Li Tingting, Song Hui, Chen Bokun, Chen Bingzhang, Li Gang
- Marine Environmental Research Vol 206 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2025.107034
- Anthropogenic nutrient inputs affect productivity-biodiversity relationships in marine tintinnid assemblages
- Feng Meiping, Qiu Jichen, Bian Wenhua, Zhang Yunfan, Hu Siting, Yang Yijia, Liu Kailin, Wang Chaofeng, Zhang Wuchang, Sun Xiaoxia, Li Na, Lin Jun, Guo Shujin, Chen Bingzhang
- Limnology and Oceanography Letters Vol 10, pp. 234-244 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.70001
- Contrasting diversity patterns between microeukaryotic and prokaryotic communities in the cold-seep sediments
- Xu Zhimeng, Chen Jiawei, Liang Wenzhao, Chen Zhao Liang, Wu Wenxue, Xia Xiaomin, Chen Bingzhang, He Ding, Liu Hongbin
- ISME Communications Vol 5 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1093/ismeco/ycaf002
- Modelling global mesozooplankton biomass using machine learning
- Liu Kailin, Xu Zhimeng, Liu Xin, Huang Bangqin, Liu Hongbin, Chen Bingzhang
- Progress in Oceanography Vol 229 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2024.103371
Research Interests
The primary focus of my research is how biodiversity affects marine ecosystem functioning such as primary production and biological carbon pump, for which the primary producers particularly phytoplankton play the pivotal role. The main questions I ask are:
i) What are the main patterns of functional traits, diversity, biomass, and productivity of primary producers including phytoplankton and macroalgae in the ocean?
ii) What are the main processes determining these patterns?
iii) What are the fundamental roles of diversity on ecosystem functioning?
One specific question that has been intriguing me during the past several years is whether there exists a difference of temperature sensitivity between autotrophs and heterotrophs. While this appears a simple/trivial question, I have found that it can be a central theme linking statistics (regression), ecology (Metabolic Theory of Ecology and trait-based approaches), and earth sciences (biological pump and Glacial/inter-glacial CO2 fluctuations).
Professional Activities
- Partitioning the slope of the Ordinary Least-Squares regression into within- and between-group components and its application in understanding the metabolic asymmetry between autotrophs and heterotrophs
- Speaker
- 25/1/2024
- MASTS Marine Artificial Intelligence Forum Steering Group (External organisation)
- Advisor
- 11/2023
- How to write an academic paper?
- Speaker
- 16/7/2023
- MASTS Scientific Advisory Panel (External organisation)
- Advisor
- 6/2023
- Engage with Strathclyde
- Organiser
- 2/5/2023
- Modeling the effect of plankton temperature sensitivity on the efficiency of biological carbon pump
- Speaker
- 12/4/2023
Projects
- How does phytoplankton diversity affect primary production in the ocean?
- Chen, Bingzhang (Principal Investigator) Banas, Neil (Co-investigator) Heath, Mike (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2021 - 31-Jan-2024
- Why phytoplankton are so diverse in the ocean desert?
- Chen, Bingzhang (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2020 - 30-Jan-2022
- Modelling phytoplankton diversity and productivity across the South China Sea continental slope
- Chen, Bingzhang (Principal Investigator)
- 04-Jan-2019 - 31-Jan-2022
- Global warming, plankton functional diversity, and the biological ocean pump
- Chen, Bingzhang (Principal Investigator) Banas, Neil (Principal Investigator)
- This project aims to understand the roles of plankton functional diversity on the biological ocean pump, a key process of the global carbon cycle, within the context of global warming.
We focus on the vast oligotrophic open ocean and our objective is to combine model development and observational data to address the key questions below:
What types of plankton functional traits will be the most important for primary production and carbon export?
What are the patterns of plankton functional diversity in the oligotrophic open ocean?
How will warming affect both plankton functional diversity and carbon export? - 01-Jan-2019 - 01-Jan-2022
- Life history and dispersal of the alien seaweed Sargassum muticum in Scottish coastal waters: an individual-based modelling approach
- Chen, Bingzhang (Principal Investigator) Blight, Andrew (Co-investigator) Paterson, David (Co-investigator)
- This project will address the key factors driving the expansion of the invasive seaweed Sargassum muticum in Scottish coastal waters. As invasive species tend to have negative impacts on key ecosystem services such as aquaculture, recreation and marine transportation, elucidating the mechanisms that lead to the successful invasion of Sargassum muticum will contribute to our understanding of Sargassum muticum expansion and may allow management to preserve the key ecosystem services of our coastal seas.
- 01-Jan-2019 - 31-Jan-2023
- Warming up the arm race: how temperature affects interactions between phytoplankton and microzooplankton
- Chen, Bingzhang (Principal Investigator) Menden-Deuer, Susanne (Visiting Academic)
- This is a travel grant supported by FILAMO, University of Bergen, Norway. The main aim is to construct a trait-based model of both phytoplankton and microzooplankton that can incorporate the observed patterns of thermal traits and can reproduce the patterns of both trait identity and diversity of plankton.
- 01-Jan-2019 - 31-Jan-2020
Contact
Dr
Bingzhang
Chen
Senior Lecturer
Mathematics and Statistics
Email: bingzhang.chen@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 3286