Biography

I am a biological oceanographer interested in the role of microbial trophic pathways in regulating the cycling of carbon and other climatically important elements in the World Ocean. I am also interested in the distribution, sources and impacts of microplastics in aquatic environments and am passionate about improving equality, diversity and inclusivity in the Environmental Sciences. I have been at the University of Portsmouth since September 2006, before which I worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr Richard Rivkin at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada.

Research interests

My main research interests include:

The role of microbial trophic pathways in regulating the cycling of biogenic carbon.
Regulation of growth and loss processes of marine bacteria in contrasting biogeochemical provinces.
Effects of grazing and nutrient limitation on microbial community structure.
Importance of microbial diversity to ecosystem function in marine systems.
Current research projects:

The regulation of the growth of marine heterotrophic bacteria is ecologically and biogeochemically important to the cycling of energy and materials in the ocean. Working in collaboration with Dr. Richard Rivkin from Memorial University of Newfoundland, my research seeks to understand the spatial and seasonal variation in the processes determining microbial dynamics and community composition in different biogeochemical provinces.

I was involved in two field programs for the Canadian Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study (C-SOLAS) Research Network, for which data are currently being analysed and prepared for publication:

Subarctic Ecosystem Response to Iron Enrichment Study (SERIES) Iron Enrichment Experiment: Response of bacteria, picophytoplankton, nanophytoplankton, and microzooplankton to a mesoscale in situ iron enrichment experiment in the NE subarctic Pacific. Study of Air-Sea Biogeochemical Interactions in the Northwestern Atlantic (SABINA): Seasonal variations in microbial dynamics in different biogeochemical provinces in the NW Atlantic.

I participated in two Atlantic Meridional Transect Program expeditions (AMT16 & AMT17) on the RRS Discovery, for which data are currently being analysed and prepared for publication