Specialism

Deep-sea ecology, benthic foraminifera

Research Interests

I have broad interests in the biodiversity, biogeography and ecology of modern
benthic foraminifera, xenophyophores and gromiids (testate protists). Current
research themes include the following. 1) Work on foraminiferal biodiversity and
biogeography has focussed particularly on monothalamous foraminifera. Analysis
of samples from different oceans suggests that some morphospecies are widespread
whereas others have more limited distributions. With Japanese and Swiss
colleagues, we are combining classical morphological methods with modern
molecular approaches to define species ranges more precisely. 2) Analyses of
temporal variability of foraminiferal faunas over decadal time-scales at an
abyssal site has revealed a switch in species dominance, possibly related to
long-term trends in organic-matter inputs. 3) We recently discovered gromiids,
large, shell-bearing protists formerly known only from coastal habitats, at
deep-water sites in the Arabian Sea and Weddell Sea. A study of the molecular
genetics of Arabian Sea gromiids by Ana Aranda da Silva demonstrated the
existence of morphologically very similar but genetically divergent cryptic
species. 4) Work by Kate Larkin in the Arabian Sea, based on incubation
experiments using 13C-labled algae and lipid biomarkers, has shown that
calcareous foraminifera exhibit rapid uptake of organic matter and play a key
role in the initial stages of its degradation.