Tawfiqur Rahman

Research interests

• Behavioural ecology
• Species interactions and trophic ecology
• Biological invasions
• Climate-change ecology
• Marine community ecology
• Food-web ecology

About

I am a marine experimental ecologist and Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Helsinki, based at Tvärminne Zoological Station.

My research investigates how anthropogenic disturbances, particularly ocean warming and biological invasions, alter species interactions and the structure, functioning, and stability of coastal food webs. My work connects organismal responses to community dynamics, asking when climate stress and biological invasions amplify or reorganize food-web effects.

My current research focuses on interactions between the native three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and the invasive rockpool shrimp (Palaemon elegans) in the Baltic Sea. I combine mesocosm experiments, behavioural observations, and food-web approaches to examine how marine heatwaves influence competition, predation, habitat use, and ecosystem functioning.

Ongoing project

Marine heatwaves, species interactions, and functional stability

I investigate whether temperature-mediated behavioural interactions facilitate the invasion of Palaemon elegans along the southern Finnish coast of the Baltic Sea.

Using experimental mesocosms, I also examine how marine temperature extremes influence the resistance, resilience, recovery, and temporal stability of different trophic groups.

Outside research

I enjoy playing football, cricket, and floorball, as well as watching movies.