University of Chester
Biological Sciences
Before joining the University of Chester, I worked in a number of academic and industrial/commercial positions across the UK and Ireland. I hold a Marine Biology Degree University of Wales, Swansea, an MPhil from University of Hull examining Marine Fisheries Ecology and a PhD in Marine Ecology from Queens University, Belfast.
My main research interests were shaped whilst at Queen’s University, Belfast where I investigated the spatial, temporal and trophic ecology of jellyfish in the Northeast Atlantic. This involved a multidisciplinary approach incorporating shoreline surveys, hydrodynamic modelling and stable isotope analysis. My research project was based around two key themes; (1) the broad-scale distribution and timing of jellyfish blooms around the North of Ireland using beach stranding and Lagrangian particle tracking simulations, respectively and (2) the use of stable isotope analysis (SIA) in trophodynamic studies of jellyfish in coastal marine systems.
Subsequent collaborative postdoctoral research projects at Queen’s University, Belfast explored the trophic ecology of elasmobranchs in the Irish Sea with (1) the Fisheries and Aquatic Ecosystems Branch of the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Northern Ireland, investigating the trophic ecology of elasmobranchs in the Irish Sea and (2) the Basque government’s Marine Research Unit (AZTI-Tecnalia), examining the impacts of gelatinous zooplankton on the commercial fisheries in the Bay of Biscay. Postdoctoral research at the University of Hull considered stress responses of benthic marine organisms within the multidisciplinary EU funded HydraLab IV-PISCES (Protocols and InStrumentation for Combined hydraulic and Ecological modelS) project. The PISCES group aimed to develop innovative new technologies, experimental protocols and improved methodologies for incorporating ecological research in hydraulic experimental facilities.
As a teaching and research fellow in the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Limerick, I designed and delivered undergraduate lectures and lecture-style tutorials using audience response software and digital learning resources alongside running teaching labs across all biological science disciplines.
Whilst employed on the EU funded SEACAMS2 project at Swansea University, I lead the development of research projects considering ecological and environmental impacts of marine renewable energy (MRE) devices on commercially important fisheries species using a range of innovative methodologies including hydroacoustic, baited remote underwater vehicles (BRUVs) and contemporary molecular approaches (including Stable isotopes and genetic techniques) to describe marine fish community assemblages, detection of species-specific fish targets and resource use and natal homing in commercially important fish species.
