DNA reveals the past and future of coral reefs
New DNA techniques are being used to understand how coral reacted to the end of the last ice age in order to better predict how they will cope with current changes to the climate. James Cook Univer
From 2005 to 2022, the main node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies was headquartered at James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland (Australia)
Dr. Martin Solan is a Senior Lecturer within the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Aberdeen. He received a BSc. Hons in Marine and Environmental Biology from tshe University of St. Andrews and a Ph.D. in Zoology for work on benthic monitoring using sediment profile imaging from the National University of Ireland, Galway.
His research focuses on the use of manipulative laboratory and field experiments to understand the functional role of benthic invertebrates and the consequences of biodiversity loss in marine sediment systems. His publications include contributions inNature, Science, Nature Microbial Reviews, TREE, PLOS One and Proceedings of the Royal Society and he has edited several theme sections in Marine Ecology Progress Series. He is a subject editor for Marine Biology Research, Oikos and PLOS One and has reviewed scientific proposals for NSF (USA), NERC (UK), Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), The Royal Society (UK), The Royal Society of New Zealand, Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, The Swiss National Science Foundation and the European Commission.
He is on the NERC review panel and is currently a member of the marine working group within NERCs biodiversity research theme. As a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of Sustainable Marine Bioresources at DEFRA and as a board member of the Coastal theme within MASTS (Marine Alliance for Science and Technology, Scotland), he has also reviewed and provided opinion on national research strategy. He has been an active member of several biodiversity related workshops and networks, including NCEAS (USA) and Imperial College (UK) working groups, and is the Chair of the forthcoming World Conference on Marine Biodiversity.
Recently, he has been recognised as as an “international leading researcher” and has accepted an unsolicited scholarship to James Cook University in Queensland, the University of Tasmania and the University of Western Australia from the Australian National Network in Marine Science (ANNiMS). Most of his past and current work has been funded by NERC.
Marine benthic ecology and the use of imaging technology to evaluate invertebrate activity and behaviour. This includes the use of manipulative laboratory and field experiments to understand species interactions; the use of sediment profile imaging (SPI) to characterise, in-situ, the functional role of invertebrate species below the sediment-water interface; the use of tracers to determine the rate and magnitude of macro-invertebrate bioturbation; the development of concepts of biodiversity and ecosystem function in marine sediment systems; and the use of time lapse and real time data acquisition for the study of temporal changes in invertebrate behaviour.
New DNA techniques are being used to understand how coral reacted to the end of the last ice age in order to better predict how they will cope with current changes to the climate. James Cook Univer
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