Biography
I completed my BSc in Marine Biology at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, in 2013, including a semester exchange at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia. I later completed my MSc in Marine Science at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia, in 2015. My thesis identified population structure in the magnificent sea anemone, Heteractis magnifica, across the Indo-Pacific, and associated Symbiodiniacea.
I very much enjoy Marine Science education, and worked as a Coral Reef Lecturer for Operation Wallacea in Akumal, Mexico, an Intern for the Tropical Marine Ecology course for undergraduates at CIEE Bonaire, and as Under 18s staff running the Mexico Marine Conservation Awareness Course for Global Vision International (GVI) in Playa del Carmen.
I joined the Department of Zoology in October 2017 in Dr. Andrea Manica's Evolutionary Ecology Group, thanks to the generous support of a departmental Whitten Studentship in Marine Biology.
Research
My PhD is focussed on understanding how Red Sea reef fish species' demographics were affected during the Last Glacial Maximum, as a model for species' responses to climate-induced habitat loss. I will study several cosmopolitan species (those shared between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean), in order to determine how responses varied and how an external source in the Indian Ocean contributed to later recovery supplemented by connectivity. My research is generously funded by a departmental Whitten Studentship in Marine Biology.
Publications
- Emms, M.A., Saenz‐Agudelo, P., Giles, E.C., Gatins, R., Nanninga, G.B., Scott, A., Hobbs, J.P.A., Frisch, A.J., Mills, S.C., Beldade, R. and Berumen, M.L., 2020. Comparative phylogeography of three host sea anemones in the Indo‐Pacific. Journal of Biogeography, 47(2), pp. 487-500. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.13775
- Monroe, A.A., Ziegler, M., Roik, A., Röthig, T., Hardenstine, R.S., Emms, M.A., Jensen, T., Voolstra, C.R. and Berumen, M.L., 2018. In situ observations of coral bleaching in the central Saudi Arabian Red Sea during the 2015/2016 global coral bleaching event. PLoS One, 13(4), p.e0195814. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0195814
Teaching and Supervisions
I supervised first year students taking the Ecology, Evolution, and Behaviour course in the Department of Zoology - 2019-20 and 2020-21
Other Professional Activities
I volunteer for the Museum of Zoology, running outreach/education sessions aimed at specific audiences across a broad age range.
