About

I am a biologist, data analyst and programmer.

I research how body-size and climate change interact to affect the ecology, physiology and behaviour of marine organisms. I use experimental and modelling approaches, and have worked on a wide range of species including intertidal invertebrates, pelagic schooling fish, squid, and humpback whales.

One of my major interests is R programming, and I have released several packages focused on conducting experiments and analysing the resulting data. See my projects on the Code page.

You can also check out my publications and posts page, where I will (very) sporadically post about things I have been up to.

Employment History

Scottish Association for Marine Science

Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban, Scotland
Postdoctoral Researcher, 2017 - 2020
Here I was investigating the growth and metabolism of the marine stickleback Spinachia spinachia under different temperature regimes (note this is a different species than the ‘model organism’ three-spined stickleback). I reared individuals of this species (which has never before been bred in the lab), for 2 years under different temperatures to examine its growth, reproductive output, and metabolic rate. Look out for outputs from this project soon.

Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, California

Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, California
Postdoctoral Researcher, 2015 - 2017
Here I was working on the biomechanics of filter feeding in forage fish (anchovies and sardines) and the foraging ecology of humpback whales.

University of Sydney

University of Sydney, Australia
Postdoctoral Researcher, 2014 - 2015
Here I researched climate change effects on sea urchins, specifically the effects of temperature and ocean acidification on metabolic scaling and feeding rate. This project was published in JEB and featured on the cover.

Queen’s University Belfast Marine Laboratory, Portaferry, Co. Down

Queen’s University Belfast Marine Laboratory, Portaferry, Co. Down
PhD, 2010 - 2013
This is where I did my PhD on the effects of climate warming and ocean acidification on metabolism and metabolic scaling in marine invertebrates. Several of my chapters were conducted overseas, including at The University of British Columbia, University of Washington, and University of Gothenburg.

Education:

Queen’s University Belfast, Co. Antrim, 2009 - 2010
MSc in Ecological Management and Conservation Biology

Southampton Solent University and University of Oslo, 2006 - 2009
BSc (hons, 1st Class) in Marine Environmental Science