Overview
Profile summary
I am an ARIES DTP PhD Student at the University of Plymouth, based in the Deep-Sea Conservation Research Unit (DeepSeaCRU) and the Marine Conservation Research Group. My PhD focuses on providing the first estimates of the role deep-sea animals play in the blue carbon budget using a range of lab, deep-learning, and modelling techniques. I hope to quantify the organic carbon content of selected deep-sea species, apply deep-learning techniques to deep-sea image and video analysis to generate species density datasets, model the density of species at the Atlantic basin scale, map the spatial distribution of carbon sinks and assess the efficacy of existing Marine Protected Area networks.
I am also a member of Challenger 150 and the Deep Ocean Observing Strategy DOERs Programme.
Previous work includes mapping vulnerable marine ecosystems across UK & Irish waters using habitat suitability models, developing density-based models of VME indicator species, investigating the role of internal waves in shaping the distribution and density of sponge aggregations, and working on ICES Working Group on Deep-water Ecology.Professional memberships
Deep-sea Biology Society (DSBS)
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):
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SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation -
SDG 14 Life Below Water
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Research output
- 4 Article
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Practical application of artificial intelligence for ecological image analysis: Trialling different levels of taxonomic classification to promote convolutional neural network performance
Bridges, A. E. H., Cross, E., Graves, K. P., Piechaud, N., Raymont, A. & Howell, K. L., Sept 2025, In: Ecological Informatics. 88, 103146.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile12 Downloads (Pure) -
Predicting the Distribution of Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems in the Chagos Archipelago
Diaz, C., Howell, K. L., Graves, K. P., Bolton, A., Hosegood, P., Robinson, E. & Foster, N. L., 2 Apr 2025, In: Ecology and Evolution. 15, 4, e71130.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile5 Downloads (Pure) -
Oceanographic variability drives the distribution but not the density of the aggregation forming deep-sea sponge Pheronema carpenteri
Graves, K. P., Bridges, A. E. H., Dabrowski, T., Furey, T., Lyons, K. & Howell, K. L., 2 Nov 2022, In: Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. 0, 0Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile17 Downloads (Pure) -
Performance of deep-sea habitat suitability models assessed using independent data, and implications for use in area-based management
Howell, K. L., Graves, K. & La Bianca, G., 25 Aug 2022, In: MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES. 695, 0, p. 33-51Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile37 Downloads (Pure)
Theses
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The Application of Habitat Suitability Modelling to Mapping VME Distribution in the Deep Sea to Inform Spatial Management
Graves, K. (Author), Howell, K. (Other Supervisor), 2022Student thesis: ResM
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