Ecological impacts of marine renewable energy structures

Scotland harbours great potential for the development of offshore renewable energy but the likely ecological impacts of such developments are poorly understood. The installation of wind, wave and tidal energy structures creates effective islands, potentially allowing species to reach previously inaccessible regions. This work aims to identify how the population dynamics of both native and invasive species may be affected by such alterations to their habitat.

Connectivity in marine populations

Models of both population dynamics and hydrodynamic processes are now well developed. However, studies that combine both are rare. Nevertheless, an understanding of the true nature of population processes in specific local environments (and the consequent impacts of disturbances) requires hydrodynamic processes to be properly accounted for in, for instance, larval dispersal and settlement.

Spatial dynamics and management of plant populations

My PhD considered the dynamics of plant populations, implementing simple mathematical and simulation models to capture size and spatial structure, and interactions between individuals, Models are applied to understand Scots pine growth patterns, and to investigate ways to improve ecologically motivated management of forest plantations.