Welcome!

Hey everyone and welcome to my new blog!

I am going to use this space to share updates on my research and to share knowledge on the thing I am so passionate about...the ocean!

A little about me...

I am a first year Ph.D. student in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of A

Aberdeen looking at the diversity, function, and connectivity in Caribbean coral rubble beds. My project will use field surveying and molecular techniques to create the first biodiversity inventory of Caribbean coral rubble beds. I will also work to establish if the function of coral rubble beds can be altered as a result of destruction to nearby intermediate reef habitats such as mangrove forests and seagrass beds. My Ph.D. supervisors are Dr. Kara Layton, Dr. Maria Beger and Dr. Juliano Morimoto.

The inspiration to begin my doctorate came whilst I was living and working on the Caribbean island of Grenada for five years. Through that time I developed a fierce passion for the conservation of tropical marine habitats and as a SCUBA diving instructor I was fortunate enough to spend a lot of my time enjoying the beauty of our underwater world. I am really excited to get stuck into this project and hopefully make a difference to the protection of our oceans.

I have 2 wonderful hot water bottles/dogs, Finn and Reilly. Reilly is a little Jack Russell farm dog, originally from Ireland. He came with me when I moved to Grenada, which is where we found Finn (a rescued street dog, known locally as a pothound). When I moved back to the U.K. in 2019 my only stipulation was that the puppies came too. They are well travelled canines! Surprisingly they both love playing in the snow!

My two fantastic puppies in North Wales. I think it took longer to take that picture than it did to walk up the entire valley!

Fun Fact: My spirit animal is a penguin; I am incredibly clumsy on land, I look ridiculous when I am swimming on the surface, but once I have my dive gear on and I am under the water I can swim like a fish!

Fishing you a great day 🐠

Chat more soon!