I am a Lecturer in Marine Biology here at the University of Plymouth and divide my time between teaching and research. In my research I specialise in using comparative ecophysiological and biochemical approaches within interdisciplinary (natural-social science) frameworks to understand the impact of ongoing global change on the marine environment, and to contribute towards sustainable solutions for this. I work across trophic levels and taxonomic groupings and I often use large-scale integrative approaches to my thinking and research. I integrate biochemistry with molecular biology, whole organism physiology and also more recently with cutting edge ‘omics’ techniques to understand how organisms respond to environmental change, and how this may ultimately influence the functionality of the ecosystem. When these types of data are combined with social science approaches this gives us a very powerful toolkit to respond to the wider effects of climate change on real life scenarios.

At Plymouth I teach accross our three Marine Biology degrees delivering lectures, seminars and field trips. I hold a PhD in Land crab ecophysiology (University of Bristol, 2010). Prior to this I completed a BSc (University of Wales, Swansea, 2003) and MRes in Marine Biology (molecular and cellular pathway) (University of Plymouth, 2005). 

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (since 2017)
British Ecological Society
Society for Experimental Biology 
Society of Biology
Marine Biological Association of the UK
Malacological Society of London
Crustacean Society
The Systematics Association 

Associate Editor - Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK

Associate Editor - Marine Biology Research

Current ResM students

Joe Vaisey (started October 2024) Investigating the pseudo-emersion response of Palaemon elegans in response to progressive hypoxia and heatwave events (Second supervisor)

Phillip Langlois (started April 2023) Sustainable whelk fishing: A model for Jersey (DoS)

Ella Whitaker (started January 2024) Geosesarma as a model for assessing the effects of climate change in tropical freshwater species (DoS)

Current PhD students

Ari Drummond (started October 2022) Beyond vision: Crustacean sensation and multimodal appendages (Third supervisor)

Previous postdoctoral staff

Dr Rodrigo Lorenzo (2020-2022) A Pack Atmosphere Support System for Live Crabs/Shellfish Species During Road Transported and Air-freighted Distribution 

Dr Christopher Thorpe (2018-2022) Is the freshwater crab Barytelphusa cunicularis suitable for use as a sustainable livelihood resource in India?

PhD completions

Dr Elina Apine (2022) An interdisciplinary assessment of the mud crab Scylla serrataas a sustainable livelihood resource in southwest India (DoS)

ResM completions

Sancha Conway Holroyd (2024) Temperature acclimation and thermal performance in cleaner shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis) (Second supervisor)

George Mason (2021) The role of environmental temperature in immunocompetence and disease susceptibility in bivalves (Second supervisor)

I currently teach on the following modules:

MBIO120 Introduction to Marine Biology
MBIO123 Marine Biology Field Course
MBIO221 Marine Molecular Biology
MBIO222 Ecophysiology of Marine Animals
MBIO223 Methods in Marine Biology
MBIO226 Experimental Marine Biology Field Course
MBIO364 Conservation Physiology
I am also the module leader for 'Conservation Physiology'.

I also have an interest in sustainability education and have published on this in collaboration with Dr Rebecca Turner:

Turner, L.M., Hegde, S., Karunasagar, I, Turner, R. (2022) How university students are taught about sustainability, and how they want to be taught, the importance of the hidden curriculum. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 23, 1560-1579. 

Career

2016-present Lecturer in Marine Biology, University of Plymouth 
2014-2016 Post-doctoral Fellow in Zoophysiology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden 
2013-2014 Lecturer in Foundation Biology and Chemistry, University of Plymouth International College
2013 Lecturer in Molecular Ecology, University of Plymouth 
2010-2014 Research Assistant in Marine Ecophysiology and Molecular Ecology, University of Plymouth 

Qualifications

2017 PG Cert Academic Practice, University of Plymouth
2006-2010 Land Crab Environmental Physiology PhD, University of Bristol
2004-2005 Marine Biology (cellular and molecular pathway) MRes, University of Plymouth
2000-2003 Marine Biology BSc, University of Wales, Swansea 

Research interests

I am a comparative ecophysiologist and biochemist who specialises in using interdisciplinary (natural-social science) frameworks to understand the impact of ongoing global change on the marine environment, and to contribute towards sustainable solutions for this. I work across trophic levels, taxonomic groupings and aquatic environments and I often use large-scale integrative approaches to my thinking and research. I integrate biochemistry with molecular biology, whole organism physiology and also more recently with cutting edge ‘omics’ techniques to understand how organisms respond to environmental change, and how this may ultimately influence the functionality of the ecosystem. When these types of data are combined with social science approaches this gives us a very powerful toolkit to respond to the wider effects of climate change on real life scenarios. For the last few years I have been working on the effects of climate change on toxin producing phytoplankton and harmful bacteria within the context of seafood safety in South Asia. This work has combined ecophysiological multi-trophic experiments with social science approaches to make projections for the effects of this on local people as consumers and producers of these seafood products as protein and/or economic resources. We have several ongoing projects to extend this research to different life stages and further alternative sustainable aquaculture species. Prior to this my research has involved work to understand the biochemical metabolic adaptations of marine invertebrates to marine climate change parameters (e.g.warming, freshening and acidification) in both laboratory experiments and field studies.

My PhD was on the functional biology of Christmas Island land crabs,specifically that of the hormonal control of metabolic and osmotic homeostasis during the annual breeding migration. Later work in collaboration with Parks Australia on Christmas Island has continued to utilise molecular ecology approaches to inform conservation management strategies of these crabs which are ecologically and increasingly economically important species.


Grants and contracts

Truebano, M., Turner, L.M., & Ciotti, B. (2020) Seafood Innovation Fund (£247,000): A Pack Atmosphere Support System for Live Crabs/Shellfish Species During Road Transported and Air-freighted Distribution Turner, L.M., Knight, M.E. & Spicer, J.I. (2018) University of Plymouth Global Challenges Research Fund (£49,000): Is the freshwater crab Barytelphusa cunicularis suitable for use as a sustainable livelihood resource in India?
Turner, L.M., Godhe, A., Edler, L., Turner, A. & Karunasagar, I. (2016) NERC Urgency grant (£65,000): Lessons for the future: Qualifying and quantifying South Asia's first widespread ciguatera poisoning outbreak.
Turner, L.M, Rodwell, L.D., Karunasagar, I., Bhatta, R. & Godhe, A. (2016) Plymouth University PhD studentship (£65,000): Identifying barriers to small-scale crustacean aquaculture in South Asia.
Turner, L.M.& Calosi, P. (2014) NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility (£4,000): ‘Identify the metabolomics basisfor adaptation to ocean acidification in a marine polychaete living around a shallow water CO2 vent system’
Calosi, P. & Turner, L.M.(2012) ASSEMBLE (Association of European Marine Biological Laboratories) (£8,000): ‘Identify the Mechanistic Basis for Metabolic Adaptation to Ocean Acidification using a shallow CO2 vent system (MetabolAdapt)’
Turner, L.M.(2011) British Ecological Society (£2,500) 'Roles of crustacean hyperglyceamic hormone in ionic and metabolic homeostasis in two related Christmas Island (CI) land crab species, the CI Red crab Gecarcoidea natalis and the CI Blue crab, Discoplax hirtipes' '
Turner, L.M. (2011) Society of Experimental Biology/Company of Biologists Travel Fund (£500) 'Hormonal control of osmoregulation in land crabs'
Turner, L.M. (2009) Parks Australia, Christmas Island (£750) ‘Phylogeography of Discoplax hirtipes on Christmas Island'
Turner, L.M.(2005) Malacological Society Research Grant (£500) 'Polyphyly across oceans: a molecular phylogeny of the Chromodorididae (Mollusca,Nudibranchia)' 

Conferences organised

July 2017 - Society for Experimental Biology (SEB) Annual main meeting, Gothenburg, Sweden. Session Organiser: Climate change and aquatic life: Effects of multiple drivers, from molecules to populations. 
July 2008 - 4th International Conference in Africa for Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry held in the Maasai Mara in Kenya

Other academic activities

I review articles for PLoS One, the Journal of Comparative Physiology, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, Marine Ecology, Journal of Experimental Zoology, Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK, Journal of Crustacean Biology, Aquaculture Research, Caribbean Journal of Science and North American Journal of Aquaculture.