People

Martin Edwards is a Honorary Professor of Ocean Ecology at the University of Plymouth and has been the Research Director at the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science. He is currently a Research Fellow at Plymouth Marine Laboratory. He has over 25 years experience in researching environmental change impacts on marine ecosystems. He has written over 185 publications.

He was the main author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 4^th Assessment Report on ‘Changes in marine ecosystems and fisheries’ and acted as a contributing author for the IPCC 5^th Assessment Report on marine biogeography and Harmful Algal Blooms and climate change.

Martin received an Inspiration Award in Ecosystem Science from the University of Oslo in 2012 in recognition of his contribution to the understanding of regime shifts on marine ecosystems.

He is currently a member of the Pool of Experts of the Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment and contributed to the first and second United Nations World Ocean Assessments (WOA).

Claudia Castellani is a zooplankton eco-physiologist and taxonomist at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory in Plymouth, UK. Her research focuses on the mechanisms determining the biogeographical and temporalchanges in zooplankton species abundance and productivity through a multidisciplinary approach.

Claudia has extensive sea-going experience having participated in numerous international and multidisciplinary oceanographic research campaigns in the Northern North Atlantic, the Southern Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. She has authored over 30 peer-reviewed publication and a book on the taxonomy and ecology of marine plankton of the North Atlantic Ocean (https://global.oup.com/academic/product/marine-plankton-9780199233267?cc=gb&lang=en&).

She is involved in two Changing Arctic Ocean projects ARISE and DIAPOD funded by the UK government in which she is investigating the impact of climate change on the ecology and physiology of Arctic zooplankton (https://www.changing-arctic-ocean.ac.uk/profile/dr-claudia-castellani/). Some of her recent work has looked into the capacity of rapid adaptation by zooplankton to climate change. More information on Claudia’s research activity can be found on her profile on Research Gate (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Claudia_Castellani)

New study: Ocean climate and hydrodynamics drive decadal shifts in Northeast Atlantic dinoflagellates

A new paper published in Global Change Biology highlights decadal changes in dinoflagellates in the North Atlantic and long-term climate change. The new paper focuses on the impact of ocean climate and hydrodynamics on the taxonomic richness and biomass of dinoflagellates in the Northeast Atlantic. It identifies five taxonomic assemblages associated with different water masses […]

New study on phytoplankton changes and climate from 1850-2100

Climate change is causing significant shifts in the phenology of phytoplankton communities, but current Earth System Models (ESMs) do not take into account the various phenotypes and trait groups that result from evolutionary strategies. A new study has used a species-based modelling approach, combined with large-scale plankton observations, to investigate past, contemporary, and future phenological […]

Phytoplankton and climate change in the North Atlantic

A team of UK and French scientists have shown dramatic changes in the abundance of phytoplankton in the North Atlantic over the last 60 years driven primarily by climate variability and North Atlantic warming. In particular, the scientists focused on the important group of phytoplankton collectively known as diatoms. This major phytoplankton group contributes approximately […]

Deep ocean warming as climate changes

Much of the “excess heat” stored in the subtropical North Atlantic is in the deep ocean (below 700m), new research suggests. Oceans have absorbed about 90% of warming caused by humans. The study found that in the subtropical North Atlantic (25°N), 62% of the warming from 1850-2018 is held in the deep ocean. The researchers […]

Warming oceans are getting louder

FASTER SOUND TRANSMISSION IN THE OCEANS DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE WILL CHANGE THE UNDERWATER SOUNDSCAPE MARINE ORGANISMS RELY ON FOR SURVIVAL AND REPRODUCTION IN COMING DECADES. Climate change will significantly alter how sound travels underwater, potentially affecting natural soundscapes as well as accentuating human-generated noise, according to a new global study that identified future ocean […]