I am a marine biologist with an interest in how animals have and will adapt to survive in their natural environments. I graduated from the University of Southampton in 2011 with a Master’s (MSci) degree in marine biology. I then worked as a marine ecologist in the Ecosystems programme at the British Antarctic Survey researching penguin life histories and compiling data for ecosystem modelling. Currently, I am carrying out my PhD with the British Antarctic Survey and the University of Cambridge which focuses on ocean acidification impacts on the shell characteristics of polar and temperate brachiopods. I use a range of techniques including long-term CO₂ perturbation experiments, animal husbandry, scanning electron microscopy and electron microprobe analysis.

Research interests

My research interests are understanding animal responses to environmental change, particularly in extreme environments, from the individual organism to whole ecosystems. I am also interested in the material science properties of marine invertebrate shells and how they are prototypes for new synthetic materials.

1. Skeleton structure, size, predation and climate change

   Understanding how the external skeleton changes in response to environmental pressures is helping us predict how a major part of the marine ecosystem (molluscs make up 23% of all marine species) will fare under climate change.

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