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).
Publications
- Engineered freshwater flows promote fish reproduction and stock recovery in the estuarine ecosystem
- Song Hongjun, Li Fan, Zhao Linlin, Li Shaowen, Chen Kan, Fu Mingzhu, Liu Dongyan, Chen Bingzhang, Ma Yuanqing, Zhang Zhaohui, Wang Zongling
- Ecological Indicators Vol 190 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.115307
- Revisiting the ocean's metabolic balance : correcting biases in bottle incubations reveals a more autotrophic and dynamic ocean
- Liu Yao, Huang Yibin, Xiang Mingwang, Zhou Junjie, Chen Bingzhang, Cassar Nicolas, Wang Weilei, Huang Bangqin
- Global Biogeochemical Cycles Vol 40 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2026gb009114
- Amplifying effects of multiyear La Niña on phytoplankton biomass in the tropical Pacific
- Lin Lei, Xu Kun, Tan Wei, Liu Jinliang, Chen Bingzhang, Liu Dongyan
- Limnology and Oceanography Letters Vol 11 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.70143
- Measuring cultural and ethnic diversity in research and innovation
- Gök Abdullah, Macmillan Greg, Chen Bingzhang, Karaulova Maria
- Research Evaluation Vol 35 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1093/reseval/rvag015
- Deep learning identifies the climate warming signal in global ocean chlorophyll from satellite records
- Lin Lei, Dong Chen, Henson Stephanie, Chen Bingzhang
- Geophysical Research Letters Vol 53 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL120669
- Contrasting size responses of loricate ciliates to long-term warming : agglutinated forms decrease while hyaline forms increase
- Zhang Yunfan, Bian Wenhua, Chen Hanyue, Zhang Wuchang, Wang Chaofeng, Qiu Jichen, Sun Xiaoxia, Lin Jun, Yu Ying, Feng Meiping, Chen Bingzhang
- Marine Biology Vol 173 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-026-04803-y
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
- Re-analyzing the Latitudinal Diversity Gradient of marine phytoplankton
- Speaker
- 29/6/2026
- Limnology and Oceanography (Journal)
- Peer reviewer
- 12/6/2026
- PhD viva (Aislinn Borland)
- Examiner
- 21/5/2026
- Re-analyzing the Latitudinal Diversity Gradient of marine phytoplankton
- Speaker
- 7/4/2026
- Re-analyzing the Latitudinal Diversity Gradient of marine phytoplankton
- Speaker
- 2/4/2026
- Anthropogenic Nutrient Inputs Affect Productivity–Biodiversity Relationships in Marine Tintinnid Assemblages
- Speaker
- 27/2/2026
Projects
- Individual variation and its consequences for population dynamics
- Gomes, Gabriela (Principal Investigator) Kerr, Lyndsay (Academic) Chen, Bingzhang (Academic)
- Workshop co-funded by Sir David Anderson Bequest (£3,200), Edinburgh Mathematical Society (£3,000) and Glasgow Mathematical Journal Trust (£1,500).
- 06-Jan-2026 - 07-Jan-2026
- Diversity and Superdiversity of Entrepreneurship
- Gok, Abdullah (Co-investigator) Lassalle, Paul (Principal Investigator) Chen, Bingzhang (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2023
- 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
Contact
Dr
Bingzhang
Chen
Senior Lecturer
Mathematics and Statistics
Email: bingzhang.chen@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 3804