Staff Profile

I'm a quantitative marine ecologist within the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences and Marine Programme Officer for the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA - https://www.iucn.org/our-union/commissions/group/iucn-wcpa-marine-thematic-group).

I am interested in understanding how ecosystem structure, species distributions and species interactions are modified by environmental and anthropogenic change, using observational data and modelling techniques. My research aims to aid marine spatial planning and the effective management and conservation of marine ecosystems, including the designation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

I have a background in Marine Ecosystem Management with a particular focus on Antarctic systems, focused on the dynamics and structure of marine food webs in the Southern Ocean to identify the influence of climate change on stability at both the species and ecosystem scales. I also have a range of previous fieldwork experience including marine mammal and seabird surveys, invertebrate sampling and fisheries cruises.

I'm currently a Research Associate funded by the Stronger Shores project (Stronger Shores - Harnessing the power of nature), which aims to use nature-based solutions to make British coastlines and communities stronger in the face of flooding, coastal erosion and climate change. My contributions to this include modelling the distribution and abundance of key habitat-forming taxa around the British Isles, mapping their provision of ecosystem services, and developing hydrodynamic models to understand their contribution to wave attenuation and flood risk mitigation.