Overview

Profile summary

I am an associate professor in marine ecology, and programme leader for the BSc Marine Biology and Oceanography.

I teach a range of courses from statistics to biological oceanography and marine vertebrate ecology. My research is focused on the ecology and conservation of marine vertebrates (marine mammals, seabirds and fish), habitat modelling, bioacoustics, and human impacts on marine species (e.g. impacts of increasing noise in the sea).

Lead the Marine Vertebrates Research Unit and member of the Marine Conservation Research Group.

Professional memberships

Member of the Society for Marine Conservation (SCB)

Member of the Society for Marine Mammalogy (SMM)

Member of the European Cetacean Society (ECS)

Roles on external bodies

Member of the Marine Autonomous & Robotic Systems - Working Group (MARS-WG)

Marine Mammal Advisor on the Programme Advisory Group for PrePARED (Predators and Prey Around Renewable Energy Developments)

Teaching interests

I am programme leader for the BSc Marine Biology and Oceanography, and I am module leader for:

  • MBIO120 Introduction to Marine Biology (1st year)
  • MBIO339 Ecology & Conservation of Marine Vertebrates (3rd year)

I also teach on the following modules:

  • MBIO123 Marine Biology Field Course (1st Year)
  • MBIO225 Methods in Marine Biology and Oceanography (2nd year)
  • MBIO227 Biological Oceanography Field Course (2nd year)
  • OS201 Global Ocean Processes (2nd year)
  • MBIO341 Biological Oceanography (3rd year)
  • OS304 Marine Ecosystems Conservation (3rd year) 

I also supervise around 8 undergraduate student projects, and 2 masters student projects a year.

Current MRes/MSc students:

  • Annabel Risdale (lead Natural England): 'Understanding Dorset's marine soundscape'
  • Koan Hughes (lead Manta Trust): 'Temporal changes in zooplankton community structure in a manta ray hotspot'

Past MRes/MSc students:

  • Harrison Smith (2022: Quantification of key areas for cetacean sensitivity to floating offshore wind farms in the Celtic Sea)
  • Kathryn Thibault (2022: Intra-annual variations of reef manta ray visitation patterns to a remote cleaning station)
  • Jennifer Devaney (2022: Change in plankton abundance in relation to tidal influences on Sandes seamount in the Chagos Archipelago)
  • Genevieve Alexander (2022: Feeding ecology and habitat use of the reef manta ray in the Chagos MPA revealed using stable isotope analysis)
  • Darcy Brady (2022; Tidal oceanographic influences on reef manta behaviour at a feeding station)
  • Megan Strachan-Williams (2021; Cetacean vocalisation diversity in the Chagos Archipelago)
  • Emma Moyse (2021; Harbour porpoise habitat models in SW UK based on historic datasets)
  • Emily Wood (2021; Spatial threat analysis of cetaceans in the English Channel)
  • Hannah Thompson (2020; Modelling habitat preferences of common dolphins off the west of Scotland)
  • Maisie Fawcett (2020; Odontocete vocalisation occurence and behaviour at Egmont Atoll, Chagos Archipelago)
  • Hayley McLennon (2020; Using visual & acoustic survey data to determine abundance, distribution & environmental drivers of harbour porpoises in South Cornwall)
  • Sam Matthews (2020; Temporal variations in tourism activities at a key MPA in the Maldives 2010-2019)
  • Matthew Clements (2020; Marine soundscape of the Southern Orkney Islands, Antarctica)
  • Joanna Harris (2019; Habitat use of reef manta rays, Mobula afredi, in the Chagos Archipelago MPA)
  • Katie Walsh (2019; Localisation and abundance of sperm whales from passive acoustics)
  • Veronica Steinheimer (2019; Can baleen whales keep up with plankton regime shifts?)
  • William Tingle (2019; Modelling the effect of ship strikes on fin whale distribution in the Bay of Biscay)
  • Shannon Booth (2018; Habitat models of long-finned pilot whales in the Northeast Atlantic)
  • Kimberley Nielsen (2018; Relative abundance of harbour porpoises around the UK from platforms of opportunity)
  • Caitlin Allen (2018; Oceanographic drivers of sperm whale distributions in the Northeast Atlantic)
  • Karley Khan (2017; Habitat modelling of sperm whales in the Northeast Atlantic)
  • Laura Bryans (2017; Predicting foraging aggregations of European storm petrels using habitat models)
  • Rosalyn Jones (2017; Impacts of seismic airguns on sperm whale vocalisations)
  • James Williams (2016; Habitat modelling of green turtles from telemetry data)
  • Gemma Starmore (2016; Using passive acoustics to understand human impacts on cetaceans)
  • Joshua Griffiths (2015; Habitat modelling of bottlenose dolphins for defining MPAs)
  • Jessica Rayner (2015; Risk modelling of minke whale entanglement in creel fishing gear)

Additional information

Qualifications:

2012-2013 SOWFIA research fellow, University of Exeter
2008-2010 Named NERC Post-doctoral fellow, University of Aberdeen
2003-2007 PhD 'Predictive models of cetaceans off the west coast of Scotland' (Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews)
2002-2003 MRes in Environmental Biology (University of St Andrews & Dundee)
2000-2002 Diploma in Biological Sciences (Open University)
1991-1996 MEng in Electrical Electronic Engineering with a year abroad & sandwich year (Imperial)

Research interests:

I am a marine ecologist and bioacoustician with several research interests:

(i) understanding the mechanisms linking oceanography with marine vertebrate (marine mammal, seabird and fish) distributions and behaviour, and using this knowledge to better conserve our marine environment;
(ii) investigating the impacts of human activity on marine ecosystems, in particular, the impact of marine noise on marine vertebrate distributions and behaviour;
(iii) use of habitat models for understanding the links between marine organisms and the marine environment, and using this as the basis for conservation such as in the design of marine protected areas;
(iv) use of passive and active acoustics to understand the behaviour and distribution of marine vertebrates and infer predator-prey relationships.

Current ResM student:

  • Naomi Westlake (2022-current: Director of Studies): 'Genotyping and satellite tracking of hawksbill and green sea turtles in Grenada' (partnered with Ocean Spirits & St Georges University, funded by the Oscar Montgomery Environmental Foundation).

Current PhD students:

  • Isha (2022-current; Director of Studies): 'Cetacean distribution, abundance and habitat in the Chagos Archipelago' (funded by the Bertarelli Foundation)
  • Udayanga Sampath (2022-current: co-supervisor): 'Cetacean acoustic spatio-temporal diversity in the Chagos Archipelago' (based in Oceans University & Oceanswell, Sri Lanka, funded by the Bertarelli Foundation)
  • Danielle Eager (2019-current; Director of Studies): 'Identifying and quantifying pelagic biomass around seamounts, atolls and islands in Chagos Archipelago in relation to fine-scale oceanographic processes' (Funded by Garfield Weston Foundation, joint with University of Highlands and Islands)
  • Joanna Harris (2019-current; Director of Studies): 'Investigating movement and foraging ecology of reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) in Chagos Archipelago' (funded by Garfield Weston Foundation, joint with the Manta Trust)
  • Ted Robinson (2019-current; 2nd supervisor): 'Physical drivers of ecosystem variability in Chagos Archipelago' (funded by Garfield Weston Foundation)
  • Chris Pass (2018- current part time; 2nd supervisor): 'Quantifying the impact of animal borne data loggers on free ranging marine mammals using tri-axial accelerometer data and computational fluid dynamics'

Past PhD students:

  • Leah Trigg (2015-2019; Director of Studies): 'Do marine mammals react to shipping noise?'
  • Svenja Tidau (2016-2019; 2nd supervisor): 'Anthropogenic noise pollution in hermit crab behaviour'
  • Matt Carter (Director of Studies 2014-2018): 'How do grey seal pups learn how to forage?'


Other research:

Working with Promare, IBM and RS-Aqua on the Mayflower Autonomous Ship project (https://mas400.com/). The MAS400 is equipped with a hydrophone and trained using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to automatically detect whale and dolphin vocalisations as it crosses the Atlantic. More information here.

Run visual-acoustic cetacean surveys along the SW Cornwall coast to investigate the abundance and distribution of cetaceans in coastal waters from the university yacht Take the Helm, collected data in summer months since 2017 (with a gap in 2020 due to COVID)

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 5 - Gender Equality
  • SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation
  • SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
  • SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
  • SDG 13 - Climate Action
  • SDG 14 - Life Below Water
  • SDG 15 - Life on Land
  • SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals

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