Dr Martin Lilley

Martin is a postdoctoral marine ecologist at Queen Mary University of London with a broad background in research of UK shelf seas, particularly the study of gelatinous zooplankton. He is primarily a field-based researcher with extensive shore and seagoing experience, who is now involved in laboratory physiological experiments and data mining analyses. From a start in rocky shore surveys and sea urchin larval culture, Martin gained further experience participating in a regular fisheries stock assessment at L4 near Plymouth. Interpretation of historical field notebooks and a subsequent benthic survey paved the way for a PhD. Since those early days Martin has undertaken 11 research cruises, with numerous day (and night) surveys, mainly focussing on plankton and jellyfish populations. From tracking of individual organisms to population surveys, fisheries bycatch and metabolic rate measurements, the data collection has been diverse and rewarding. This broad knowledge, both around the UK and in the Mediterranean, has led to a wide range of first and co-authored publications, presentations at international conferences and involvement in both ICES and PICES working groups on jellyfish.