Sophie has worked for Cefas since 2003, mainly as a Plankton ecologist with a view to undertake research into the role of zooplankton in the marine ecosystem and its influence on fisheries. She has experience in the analysis of long-term time series and in 2005, Sophie won an associate researcher grant with SAHFOS as a result of collaboration and gained knowledge of CPR data. Her research include studies on the impact of climate change on the recruitment of commercial marine fish species and the development of Individual Based models. More recently Sophie has developed an interest in gelatinous plankton, including the spread of non-native species and their impact on invaded ecosystems. She is currently leading on Defra contract to optimize the monitoring of zooplankton with the aim to satisfy the needs of modelers and policy makers, and is increasingly involved in the design of a new UK monitoring program for plankton. Sophie has authored 20 scientific papers to date.

I collaborated with Prof. Kerry Turner (ENV) and Dr Tiziana Luisetti as part of the MEMO project (Interreg IVa 2seas, 2010-2013), based on a socio-economic study concerning observed nuisances and potential problems caused by gelatinous plankton. I currently co-supervise a PhD student, Rebecca Wright, with Prof. Corrinne Le Quere (ENV). This PhD study aims to quantify the role of climate change on the occurrence of jellyfish blooms in the world’s oceans. To do this it will use a combination of data analysis, ecosystem modelling and economic valuation. 

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