Academic Education:
- BSc – Marine Biology, Ruppin Academic Center (Michmoret),
Israel (2013-2016) - MSc – Marine Biology, University of Haifa, Israel (2018-2020)
- Ph.D – Marine biology, University of Haifa, Israel (2020-2025)
Background:
Tal Ben Ezra is a marine biogeochemist specializing in nutrient dynamics and phytoplankton ecology in oligotrophic systems. She recently completed her PhD at the University of Haifa’s Charney School of Marine Sciences, where she investigated seasonal and spatial shifts in nutrient limitation in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea using bioassays, enzyme activity, and long-term monitoring. Tal currently leads the chemical monitoring program at the Morris Kahn Marine Research Station, including nutrient and chlorophyll analyses, flow cytometry, and coordination of seasonal research cruises along the Israeli coastal shelf and offshore transect. She is also preparing for postdoctoral research on zooplankton–dust interactions in collaboration with international partners. Tal is passionate about using long-term oceanographic data to understand ecosystem change and contribute to climate resilience research.
Current Research:
In the coming year, Tal plans to begin a postdoctoral project investigating the role of zooplankton in transforming atmospheric dust into bioavailable iron. This research will combine experimental mesocosms, trace metal analysis, and international collaboration to explore previously underexamined pathways of nutrient regeneration with implications for marine productivity and climate feedbacks.
Publications:
- Ben Ezra, T., Reich, T., Tsemel, A., Berman-Frank, I., Lehahn, Y., Sher, D., Suari, Y., Krom, M.D., 2023. Nutrient dynamics across the Israeli coastal shelf: An unusual oligotrophic coastal system. Cont. Shelf Res. 266, 105103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.
2023.105103 - Ben-Ezra, T., Krom, M.D., Tsemel, A., Berman-Frank, I., Herut, B., Lehahn, Y., Rahav, E., Reich, T., Thingstad, T.F. and Sher, D., 2021. Seasonal nutrient dynamics in the P depleted Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, p.103607. https://doi.org/10.
1016/j.dsr.2021.103607 - Ben Ezra, T., Blachinsky, A., Gozali, S., Tsemel, A., Fadida, Y., Tchernov, D., Lehahn, Y., Tsagaraki, T. M., Berman-Frank, I., & Krom, M. (2024). Interannual changes in nutrient and phytoplankton dynamics in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS) predict the consequences of climate change; results from the Sdot-Yam Time-series station 2018–2022. Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.
2024.104403 - Ben Ezra, T., Tsemel, A., Suari, Y., Berman-Frank, I., Tchernov, D., & Krom, M. D. (2024). Determining the Fluxes and Relative Importance of Different External Sources and Sinks of Nitrogen to the Israeli Coastal Shelf, a Potentially Vulnerable Ecosystem. Water (Switzerland), 16(18). https://doi.org/10.3390/
w16182585 - Reich, T., Ben Ezra, T., Belkin, N., Tsemel, A., Aharonovich, D., Roth-Rosenberg, D., Givati, S., Bialik, O., Herut, B., Berman‐Frank, I., Frada, M.J., Krom, M.D., Lehahn, Y., Rahav, E., Sher, D., n.d. A year in the life of the Eastern Mediterranean: Monthly dynamics of phytoplankton and bacterioplankton in an ultra-oligotrophic sea. Deep Sea Res. Part I Oceanogr. Res. Pap. 182, 103720. doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2022.103720
- Keuter, S., Silverman, J., Krom, M.D., Sisma-Ventura, G., Yu, J., Tsemel, A., Ben Ezra, T., Sher, D., Reich, T., Koplovitz, G., Frada, M.J., 2022. Seasonal patterns of coccolithophores in the ultra-oligotrophic South-East Levantine Basin, Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Mar. Micropaleontol. 102153. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.
MARMICRO.2022.102153
