Brenda Walles

Dr. Brenda Walles is a Tenure Track Scientist at the Estuarine & Delta Systems department of the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) in Yerseke. Her research focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of Nature-Based Solutions for coastal defense under climate change scenarios.

Key research areas include:

• Wave attenuation mechanisms of oyster reefs in varying tidal environments
• Geographic variability in salt marsh plant resilience and ecosystem services
• Impact of sediment interventions on tidal flat ecosystems and heatwave mitigation

Recent work analyzes interactions between coastal engineering measures and ecological systems, with field studies conducted in the Dutch Delta and Gulf of Mexico. Current projects investigate morphological responses to storm surge barriers and macrofauna dynamics in intertidal zones.