My research focusses on applying cetacean ecology and behavioural studies to anthropogenic impacts. In recent years, I have specifically studied small cetacean density, distribution and behaviour at sites proposed for tidal energy development in Wales. We seek to understand animal usage in high current areas and develop innovative tools to study dolphin and porpoise response to operating turbines, to inform collision risk. 

Marine Centre Wales,

Room 107,

Bangor University,

Askew Street,

Menai Bridge,

LL59 5AB,

Isle of Anglesey,

Wales

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +44 (0)1248 382840

I completed a BSc in Marine Biology from the Queen's University of Belfast in 2006. I then spent a season working as an intern Research Assistant for the Sea Watch Foundation, on their Cardigan Bay bottlenose dolphin monitoring project. I did an MRes in Marine Biology at Plymouth University and the Marine Biological Association in 2007-2008 and returned to work for the Sea Watch Foundation for several years in 2009. Since then I have continued to work on various cetacean projects including in New Zealand, the Faroe Islands and Egyptian Red Sea. I started at Bangor University as a Research Officer in 2014 on the SEACAMS2 project, working towards filling research gaps relating to cetacean interactions with proposed tidal energy developments in Wales. We work together with the marine energy sector to find solutions to answering applied research questions in these challenging high current areas. I'm also working on a PhD, 'an applied approach to studying collision risk of cetaceans with tidal turbines', supervised by Dr Line Cordes, Prof Lewis LeVay and Dr Gordon Hastie (Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), University of St Andrews).