Professor Bhavani Narayanaswamy


        Head and shoulder photo of deep-sea ecologist Dr Bhavani Narayanaswamy near an Arctic glacier

Deep-sea ecologist & microplastic researcher

I am a benthic ecologist focussing on the deep sea and Arctic ecosystems, specifically studying the impacts of biotic, abiotic and anthropogenic inputs on the faunal community. I am increasingly focussing on the distribution and abundance of microplastics in the world’s oceans.

I am also the Head of SAMS' Graduate School.

Contact details:

The deep sea is by far the largest ecosystem on the planet. It harbours many fascinating habitats including underwater mountains through to the nearby continental margins.  My deep-sea research interests are in the diversity, composition and structure of the deep water fauna living on or in the sediments and how these relate to the different environmental variables that interact and influence the fauna, ranging from, changes in temperature as a result of internal tides, to habitat heterogeneity and impacts from a changing climate.  I am particularly interested in the fauna that live on seamounts and banks as well as the soft sediment found on the continental margins in all the major oceans including the NE Atlantic and polar seas.

In addition my research focus is looking at plastics, specifically microplastics, found in the marine environment. Microplastics, particles < 5 mm in size, are of particular biological concern as they can be ingested by a wide diversity of organisms, which have been shown to suffer negative impacts as a consequence. The long term fate of marine microplastics is not well known; however it is hypothesised that the deep sea may be the final repository for this pollutant. Assessing the input sources, transport routes and 'lifecycle' of marine microplastics are fundamental questions to understanding the impacts of plastic pollution and ensure adequate mitigation measures are in place at both a regional and global level.


Current research projects

Arctic PRIZE. Funded by NERC. 2017-

One Ocean Hub. Funded by UKRI through teh Global Challenge Research Fund. 2019-

 

Selected past projects

Benthic biodiversity of seamounts in the southwest Indian Ocean (SWIOR). Funded by NERC

Impact of the geometry of submarine landscapes on deep-sea biogeochemistry (TOPODEEP): Funded by NERC

Hotspot Ecosystem Research and Man's Impact on European Seas (HERMIONE): Funded by EU FP7

European Census of Marine Life (EuroCoML): Funded by TOTAL Foundation, Alfred Sloan Foundation, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Argyll and the Islands Enterprise. 2005-10

Peer-reviewed publications

Sands CJ, Goodall-Copestake W, Stöhr S, Narayanaswamy BE, Convey P, O’Hara T & Martin-Ledo R (2024). The diverse and widespread Southern Ocean ophiuroid Amphiura belgicae should be considered a species complex. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution vol 12: doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1416418

Allison NL, Dale AC, Turrell WR, Narayanaswamy BE (2023) Modelled and observed plastic pollution on remote Scottish beaches: The importance of local marine sources. Marine Pollution Bulletin 194: 115341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115341  

Bravo ME, Brandt MI, van der Grient JMA, Dahlgren TG, Esquete P, Gollner S, Jones DOB, Levin LA, McClain CR, Narayanaswamy BE, Sutton T, Victorero L and Cordes EE (2023) Insights from the management of offshore energy resources: Toward an ecosystem-services based management approach for deep-ocean industries. Front. Mar. Sci. 9:994632. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2022.994632

Naidu SA, Yokoyama H, Ramaneswari K, Narayanaswamy BE, Panda US & Ramanamurthy MV (2022) First description of two Paraprionospio species (Polychaeta: Spionidae) from tropical estuarine and coastal waters of India. International Journal of Fauna and Biological Studies. 9 (6A): 32-42

Cautain IJ, Last KS, McKee D, Bluhm BA, Renaud PE, Ziegler AF and Narayanaswamy BE (2022). Uptake of sympagic organic carbon by the Barents Sea benthos linked to sea ice seasonality. Frontiers in Marine Science – Deep Sea Environments and Ecology Section. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1009303

Cocking J, Narayanaswamy BE, Waluda CM, Williamson BJ (2022). Aerial detection of beached marine plastic using a novel, hyperspectral short-wave infrared (SWIR) camera. ICES Journal of Marine Science. 79(3) 648-660

Paradinas LM, James NA, Quinn B, Dale A & Narayanaswamy BE. (2021). A new collection tool-kit to sample microplastics from the marine environment (sediment, seawater and biota) using Citizen Science. Frontiers in Marine Science. 8:657709.  https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.657709

Allison NL, Dale A, Turrell WR, Aleynik D and Narayanaswamy BE (2022) Simulating the distribution of beached litter on the northwest coast of Scotland. Front. Environ. Sci. 10:940892. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.940892  

Pattiaratchi C, van der Mheen M, Schlundt C, Narayanaswamy BE, Sura A, Hajbane S, White R, Kumar N, Fernandes M & Wijeratne S. (2022) Plastics in the Indian Ocean – sources, transport, distribution and impacts. Ocean Science. 18: 1-28. https://ddoi.org/10.5194/os-18-1-2022 

Pace MC, Bailey DM, Donnan DW, Narayanaswamy BE, Smith HJ, Spiers DC, Turrell, Heath MR. (2021) Modelling seabed sediment physical properties and organic matter content in the Clyde. Earth System Science Data. 13: 5847-5866 https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2021-23 

Naidu SA, Mawii L, Ranga Rao V, Anitha G, Narayanaswamy BE, Anil Kumar V, Ramana Murthy MV & Gupta GVM (2021) Characterization of plastic debris from surface waters of the eastern Arabian Sea–Indian Ocean. Marine Pollution Bulletin. doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112468

Howell KL….Narayanaswamy BE….et al. (2021) A decade to study deep-sea life. Nature Ecology and Evolution 5(3), 265-267

Moser A, Pheasant IJ, Macpherson WN, Narayanaswamy BE, Sweetman AK (2021) Sediment profile imaging: Laboratory study into the sediment smearing effect of a penetrating plate. Frontiers in Marine Science 8: 582076 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.582076 

Levin L, Clark M, Hall-Spencer J, Hopcroft R, Ingels J, Metaxas A, Narayanaswamy BE, Tuhumwire J & Yasuhara M. (2021). Chapter 7J: Continental slopes and submarine canyons. IN: The Second World Ocean Assessment II. Published by the United Nations. Pg 395-420.

Clark M, Bernardino A, Roberts JM, Narayanaswamy BE, Snelgrove P & Tuhumwire J. (2021). Chapter 7L: Seamounts and pinnacles. IN: The Second World Ocean Assessment II. Published by the United Nations. Pg 437-451.

Colaco A, Brandt A, Hilario A, Lourenco N, Narayanaswamy BE, Priede IG, Tuhumwire J, Vecchione M & Watanabe H. (2021).  Chapter 7O: Ridges, plateaux and trenches. IN: The Second World Ocean Assessment II. Published by the United Nations. Pg 495-512. https://www.un.org/regularprocess/sites/www.un.org.regularprocess/files/2011859-e-woa-ii-vol-i.pdf

Howell KL….Narayanaswamy BE….et al. (2020). A blueprint for an inclusive, global deep-sea ocean decade field program. Frontiers in Marine Science 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.584861

Orkney A, Platt T, Narayanaswamy BE, I Kostakis, Bouman H, (2020). Bio-optical evidence for increasing Phaeocystis dominance in the Barents Sea. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, A. 378:2181 – 20190357

Jeffreys R, Robson LM, Narayanaswamy BE (2020). Impacts of climate change on Deep Sea Habitats, relevant to the coastal and marine environment around the UK. Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership: Science Review

Last, E.K., Ferguson, M., Serpetti, N., Narayanaswamy, B.E., Hughes, D.J. 2020. [Geodia] and other massive sponges on Atlanto-Arctic upper bathyal mixed sediment. In Tyler-Walters H. and Hiscock K. (eds) Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Reviews [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. https://dx.doi.org/10.17031/marlinhab.1199.1

Gebruk A, Mikhaylyukova P, Mardashova M, Semenova V, Henry L-A, Shabalin N, Narayanaswamy B & Mokievsky V (2020) Integrated study of benthic foraging resources for Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus( in the Pechora Sea, south-eastern Barents Sea. Aquatic Conservation - Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 2020:1-14 https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3418 

Courtene-Jones W, Quinn B, Ewins C, Gary SF, Narayanaswamy BE (2020) Microplastic accumulation in deep-sea sediments from the Rockall Trough. Marine Pollution Bulletin 154: 111092. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111092

AJ Jamieson, LSR Brooks, WDK Reid, SB Piertney, BE Narayanaswamy & TD Linley (2019). Microplastics and synthetic particles ingested by deep-sea amphipods in six of the deepest marine ecosystems on Earth. Royal Society Open Science 6: 180667. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.180667

Courtene-Jones WQuinn B, Ewins C, Gary SF, Narayanaswamy BE (2018) Consistent microplastic ingestion by deep-sea invertebrates over the last four decades (1076-2015), a study from the North East Atlantic. Environmental Pollution. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.10.090

Boswarva K, Butters A, Fox CJ, Howe JA, Narayanaswamy B (2018) Improving marine habitat mapping using high-resolution acoustic data; a predictive habitat map for the Firth of Lorn, Scotland. Continental Shelf Research 168: 39-47 DOI: 10.1016/j.csr.2018.09.005

Neat FC, Jamieson AJ, Stewart HA, Narayanaswamy BE, Collie N, Stewart M, Linley TD (2018) Visual evidence of reduced seafloor conditions and indications of a cold-seep ecosystem from the Hatton–Rockall basin (NE Atlantic). Journal of the Marine Biological Association UK. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315418000115

Courtene-Jones, W. Quinn, B. Gary, S. F. Mogg, A. O. M. Narayanaswamy, B. E. (2017) Microplastic pollution identified in deep-sea water and ingested by benthic invertebrates in the Rockall Trough, North Atlantic Ocean. Environmental Pollution, 231, pp 271-280; DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.08.026

Narayanaswamy BE, Rea T, Serpetti N & Lamont PA (2017) What lies within: Annelid polychaetes found in micro-habitats of coral/carbonate material from SW Indian Ocean seamounts. Deep Sea Research II 137: 157-165. doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2016.06.018

Courtene-Jones W, Quinn B, Murphy F, Gary SF & Narayanaswamy BE (2017) Optimisation of enzymatic digestion and validation of specimen preservation methods for the analysis of ingested microplastics. Analytical Methods 9: 1437-1445

Serpetti N, Taylor ML, Brennan D, Green Dh, Rogers AD, Paterson GLJ & Narayanaswamy BE (2017) Ecological adaptations and commensal evolution of the Polynoidae (Polychaeta) in the Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge: A phylogenetic approach. Deep Sea Research II 137: 273-281

Woodall LC, Robinson LF, Rogers AD, Narayanaswamy BE, Paterson GLJ (2015) Deep sea litter: A comparison of seamounts, banks and a ridge in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans reveals both environmental and anthropogenic factors impact accumulation and composition. Frontiers in Marine Science 2(3). doi: 10.3389/fmars.2015.00003

Davies JS, Stewart HA, Narayanaswamy BE, Jacobs C, Spicer J, Golding N & Howell KL (2015). Benthic assemblages of the Anton Dohrn Seamount (NE Atlantic): defining deep-sea biotopes to support habitat mapping and management efforts with a focus on Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems. PLoS ONE 10(5) e0124815

Woodall LC, Sanchez-Vidal A, Canals M, Paterson GLJ, Coppock R, Sleight V, Calafat A, Rogers AD, Narayanaswamy BE & Thompson RC (2014). The deep sea is a major sink for microplastic debris. Royal Society Open Science 1 (4):140317. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.140317

Watson C, Chivers AJ, Narayanaswamy BE, Lamont P & Turnewitsch R (2014) Chrysopetalidae (Annelida: Phyllodocida) from Senghor Seamount, NE Atlantic: taxa with deep-sea affinities & morphological adaptions. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria: Proceedings of the International Polychaete Conference 71: 311-325.

Thurber AR, Sweetman AK, Narayanaswamy BE, Jones DOB, Ingels J & Hansman RL (2014). Ecosystem function and services provided by the deep sea. Biogeosciences 11, 3941-3963.

Bett BJ, Narayanaswamy BE (2014) Genera as proxies for species α- and β-diversity: tested across a deep-water Atlantic-Arctic boundary. Marine Ecology. 35: 436-444

Narayanaswamy BE, Coll M, Danovaro R, Davidson K, Ojaveer H & Renaud PE (2013). Synthesis of knowledge on marine biodiversity in European Seas: from Census to sustainable management. PLoS ONE 8(3): e58909.

Jeffreys RM, Burke C, Jamieson AJJ, Narayanaswamy BE, Ruhl HA, Smith Jr KL, Witte U (2013) Feeding preferences of abyssal macrofauna inferred from in-situ pulse chase experiments. PLoS ONE 8:11 e80510.

Hughes DJ & Narayanaswamy BE (2013). Impacts of climate change on deep-sea habitats. Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership: Science Review. pp 204-210.

Narayanaswamy BE, Hughes DJ, Howell KL, Davies J & Jacobs C. (2013) First observations of megafaunal communities inhabiting George Bligh Bank, Northeast Atlantic. Deep Sea Research II. 92:79-86.

Serpetti N, Gontikaki E, Narayanaswamy BE & Witte U (2013) Macrofauna community inside and outside of the Darwin Mounds SAC, NE Atlantic. Biogeosciences, 10, 3705– 3714.

Chivers AJ, Narayanaswamy BE, Lamont PA, Dale A & Turnewitsch R (2013) Changes in polychaete standing stock and diversity on the northern side of Senghor seamount (NE Atlantic). Biogeosciences, 10, 3535– 3546.

Morato T, Kvile K Ø, Taranto GH, Tempera F, Narayanaswamy BE, Hebbeln D, Menezes GM, Wienberg C, Santos RS & Pitcher TJ (2013) Seamount physiography and biology in the north-east Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. Biogeosciences, 10, 3039–3054.

Gontikaki E, Polymenakou PN, Thornton B, Narayanaswamy BE, Black K, Tselepides A & Witte U. (2012) Microbial response to organic matter enrichment in the oligotrophic Levantine Basin (Eastern Mediterranean). Geomicrobiology Journal. 29 (7) 648-655.

Fehling J, Davidson K, Bolch CJS, Brand T & Narayanaswamy BE (2012) Autumnal phytoplankton distribution in North West European shelf sea waters with special emphasis on the diatom. PLoS ONE 7 (3): e34098.

Gontikaki E, Mayor DJ, Narayanaswamy BE & Witte U (itemIDitemID2331E2011) Feeding strategies of deep-sea sub-Arctic macrofauna of the Faroe-Shetland Channel: combining natural stable isotopes and enrichment techniquesuserIDuserID56E. Deep-sea Res I. 58:160-172.

Narayanaswamy BE & Bett BJ. (2011) Macrobenthic biomass relations in the Faroe-Shetland Channel: An Arctic-Atlantic boundary environment. PLoS ONE 6(4): e18602.

Wei C-L, Rowe GT, Escobar-Briones E, Boetius A, Soltwedel T, Caley MJ, Soliman Y, Huettmann F, Qu F, Yu Z, Pitcher CR, Haedrich RL, Wicksten MK, Rex MA, Baguley JG, Sharma J, Danovaro R, MacDonald IR, Nunnally CC, Deming JW, Montagna P, Lévesque M, Weslawski JM, Wlodarska-Kowalczuk M, Ingole BS, Bett BJ, Billet D, Yool A, Bluhm BA, Iken K & Narayanaswamy BE (2010) Global Patterns and predictions of seafloor biomass using Random Forests. PLoS ONE. 5(12) e:15323.

Narayanaswamy BE, Renaud P, Duineveld G, Berge  J, Lavaleye  MSS, Reiss  H & Brattegard  T (itemIDitemID2328E2010). Biodiversity trends along the western European MarginuserIDuserID56E. PLoS ONE. 5 (12):e14295.

Ramirez-Llodra E, Brandt A, Danovaro  R,  De Mol B, Escobar E, German C, Levin L, Martinez-Arbizu P, Menot L, Buhl-Mortensen P, Narayanaswamy BE, Smith CR, Tittensor D, Tyler P, Vanreusel A & Vecchione M (itemIDitemID2316E2010) Deep, diverse and definitely different: unique attributes of the world's largest ecosystemuserIDuserID56E. Biogeosciences. 7: 2851-2899.

Narayanaswamy BE, BJ Bett & Hughes DJ (itemIDitemID2243E2010) Deep-water macrofaunal diversity in the Faroe-Shetland region (NE Atlantic): a margin subject to an unusual thermal regimeuserIDuserID56E. Marine Ecology. 31: 237-246.

Howell  K, Davies  JS & Narayanaswamy  BE (itemIDitemID2242E2010) Identifying deep-sea megafaunal epibenthic assemblages for use in habitat mapping and marine protected area network designuserIDuserID56E. JMBA UK. 90: 33-68.

Narayanaswamy BE & Blake JA (itemIDitemID984E2005). A new species of Orbiniella (Polycahaeta: Orbiniidae) from deep basins of AntarcticauserIDuserID56E. JMBA UK. 85(4): 843-846.

Narayanaswamy BE Bett BJ & Gage JD (itemIDitemID983E2005). Ecology of bathyal polychaete fauna at an Arctic-Atlantic boundary (Faroe-Shetland Channel, North-east Atlantic)userIDuserID56E. Marine Biology Research. 1: 20-32.

Blake JA & Narayanaswamy BE (itemIDitemID522E2004). Benthic infaunal communities across the Weddell Sea Basin and South Sandwich Slope, AntarcticauserIDuserID56E. Deep-sea Res II 51: 1797-1815.

Narayanaswamy BE, Nickell TD & Gage JD (itemIDitemID370E2003) Appropriate levels of taxonomic discrimination in deep-sea studies: species vs familyuserIDuserID56E. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 257: 59-68.

Bett BJ, Malzone GM, Narayanaswamy BE, Wigham BD. (itemIDitemID538E2001). Temporal variability in phytodetritus and megabenthic activity at the seabed in the deep Northeast AtlanticuserIDuserID56E. Prog in Oceanogr. 50(1-4): 349-368.

 

Other publications

Narayanaswamy BE & Foley M (2016) Impacts and effect of ocean warming on deep- sea communities. In: Laffoley D & Baxter JM (Eds). Explaining ocean warming: Causes, scale effects and consequences. Ch 3.9, 199 – 212

Narayanaswamy BE, Bett BJ, Lamont PA, Rowden AA, Bell EM & Menot L. (2016). Chapter 11 – Corers and Grabs. In: Clark M, Rowden AA, Consalvey M. Sampling the Deep-Sea. Blackwell Publishing, Chichester, UK.

Ingels J, Clark M, Vecchione M, Perez JAA, Levin L, Priede IG, Sutton T, Rowden AA, Smith CR, Yasuhara M, Sweetman AK, Soltwedel T, Santos R, Narayanaswamy BE, Ruhl HA, Fujikura K, Amaral Zettler L, Jones DOB, Gates AR, Snelgrove P, Bernal P & van Gaever S (2016) Open Ocean Deep Sea. IN: Oceans and Law of the Sea – United Nations. Ch 36F.

Baker E, Gaill F, Karageirgis AP, Lamarche G, Narayanaswamy BE, Parr J, Raharimananirina C, Santos R, Sharma R & Tuhumwire J (2016). Offshore Mining Industries. IN: Oceans and Law of the Sea – United Nations. Ch 23.

Holtrop G, Swan S, Duff B, Wilding T, Narayanaswamy BE, Davidson K. (2016). Risk assessment of the Scottish monitoring programme for the marine biotoxins in shellfish harvested from classified production areas: review of the current sampling scheme to develop an improved programme based on evidence of risk. FSS/2015/021

Parry MEV, Howell KL, Narayanaswamy BE, Bett BJ Jones DOB, Hughes DJ, Piechaud N, Nickell TD, Ellwood H, Askew N, Jenkins C & Manca E (2015) A deep –sea section for the marine habitat classification of Britain and Ireland. JNCC Report No: 530 http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/Report_530_web.pdf

Consultancy and industry experience

I have 15+ years of experience working on the biology of deep-sea ecosystems. Some of this work has been undertaken through the Strategic Environmental Surveys of the deep waters around the UK.

 

Accessing consultancy services from SAMS

SAMS consultancy work is delivered through its wholly owned commercial subsidiary, SAMS Research Services Ltd. (SRSL). SRSL operates a comprehensive Quality Management System (QMS) that is accredited to ISO9001:2008 standard, guaranteeing that all projects deliver the best possible service to our customers. All SRSL projects are planned by a professional programme manager who oversees a team of dedicated project managers, all of whom are focussed specifically on client delivery, and have scientific experience and technical expertise in fields relevant to their assigned projects.

For further information concerning commercial enterprise opportunities at SAMS, please contact SRSL by email (info@srsl.com) or phone +44 (0) 1631 559 470.

Lecturing

Postgraduate: Module leader 'Teaching to teach'

Marine Science BSc: Module leader 'Deep Sea Ecosystems' year 4

Marine Science BSc: Module leader 'Dissertation' year 4

Marine Science BSc: Lecturer 'Polar Seas' year 4

Marine Science BSc: Lecturer 'Marine Zoology' year 3

Marine Science BSc: Lecturer 'Marine Biology' year 2

 

Current research students

Pearl Sakyi-Djan: Assessing microplastics in Ghanaian coastal waters. PhD since 2021. University of Cape Coast, Ghana

Ivan Cautain: Where's my dinner? Do Arctic benthic communities show preferential food uptake? PhD since 2019. UHI

Nicole Allison: Understanding marine microplastic dynamics using macroplastics as a proxy. PhD since 2019. UHI

Nicol Ferguson: Possible mitigation against uptake of microplastics by macroalgae. MRes since 2019. UHI

Jennifer Cocking: Microplastics in the marine environment: Detection using a novel, hyperspectral infrared camera on a UAV. PhD since 2017. UHI

Annabell Moser: Developing the next generation of sediment profile imaging camera/ planar optode system for use on autonomous platforms. PhD since 2017. Heriot Watt University 

Marta Cecchetto: Assessing benthic ecosystem functioning across the deep-sea biome of the western Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean and Andvord Bay in the Antarctic Peninsula. PhD since 2017. Heriot Watt University

Martin Foley: Where's my dinner? Do Arctic benthic communities show preferential food uptake? PhD since 2017. UHI

Lola Paradinas: Distribution of microplastics in the Scottish marine environment. PhD since 2017. UHI

 

Alumni research students

Karen Boswarva: The effectiveness of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) for mapping and monitoring the seabed - a novel toolkit for marine management. PhD. 2016-21. UHI

Matthew Pace: Modelling the ecosystem consequences of trawling on soft sediments in the Firth of Clyde. PhD 2017-21. University of Glasgow

Solène Giraudeau-Potel:  Investigating Printer Toner as a Potential Source of Microplastic Pollution in the Marine Environment. MRes. 2019-2020. UHI

Winnie Courtene-Jones: Microplastic pollution in the deep sea ecosystem: a study from the Rockall Trough, North East Altantic Ocean. PhD 2015-2019. UHI

Anna Gebruk: Revealing food resources of the Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) in the Pechora Sea. MSc 2017. University of Edinburgh

Adam Chivers: The Biodiversity and Ecology of Senghor Seamount (NE Atlantic). PhD 2015. University of Aberdeen

Martin Foley: Differences in Macrofaunal Communities Between a Cold Seep Site and its Surrounding Area, NE Atlantic. MSci 2017. University of Glasgow

Jaime Davies: Identification of areas of nature conservation importance in deep waters of the UK continental shelf, to contribute towards spatial planning and the development of an ecologically coherent network of MPAs in the North-East Atlantic. PhD 2010. University of Plymouth

Sofia Ledin: The ecology and biodiversity of benthic macro fauna found in three deep sea canyons of Papua New Guinea, pre-DSTP. MSc 2014. University of Stockholm

Margaux Llapasset: Changes in the structure and diversity of the Rockall Trough (NE Atlantic) macrofauna over time. MSc 2015. Université de Perpignan

Alex Schweizer: Macrobenthic community structure and diversity in the Rockall Trough: A 30-year time-series study. MSc 2013. University of St Andrews and SAMS

Stephen Watson: Seasonal and inter-annual trends in macrobenthic community structure in the Rockall Trough, NE Atlantic. MSc 2012. University of St Andrews and SAMS

Adam Chivers: Macrofauna from Senghor Seamount. MSc 2010. Heriot-Watt University

Evangelia Gontikaki: The fate of phytodetritus pulses in subarctic and Mediterranean sediments. PhD 2010. University of Aberdeen

 

Professional memberships

Royal Society of Biology: Fellow

MASTS Deep Sea Forum: Member

Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative (DOSI): Member

UN General Assembly Worlds Oceans Assessment: Member

Challenger and the Deep Sea Special Interest Group of Challenger: Member

DeepSea Decade Working Group: Member

Employment history

Since 2015 Head of SAMS Graduate School

Since 2013 Senior Lecturer in Deep-Sea Ecosystems. SAMS

2009-13 Lecturer in Deep-Sea Ecosystems. SAMS

2005-10 European Census for Marine Life Coordinator. SAMS

2003 PEET Fellow. Univeristy of Massachusetts, Boston

 

Qualifications

2001 PhD 'Macrobenthic Ecology of the Faroe-Shetland Channel' University of Southampton

1998 BSc Joint Honours Marine Biology and Oceanography. University of Wales, Bangor