Stanley Gray Fellowship Awarded for Ecosystem Level Responses to Marine Plastic Debris
Stephanie Lavelle has been awarded the prestigious Stanley Gray Fellowship for her PhD research project 'Ecosystem Level Responses to Marine Plastic Debris'.
Stephanie Lavelle has an MSci(Hons) in Marine Biology and Oceanography from the University of Southampton, England, and is currently undertaking her PhD at the University of Southampton. Prior to starting her PhD, Stephanie gained experience managing conservation organisations in Indonesia and Madagascar, before moving back to the UK to join oceanographic sensor specialists Chelsea Technologies. The Maritime market was a new business area Stephanie developed for Chelsea, specialising in ballast and scrubber wash water monitoring systems, through which she started working with the IMarEST and attending International Maritime Organization (IMO) meetings through a young professional opportunity. Stephanie is now a chair for IMarEST in their new Ocean Plastics and Marine Litter Special Interest Group and plastics working group at the IMO.
"The opportunity of developing guidance, regulations and enforcement with the IMarEST over the last few years has been one of the biggest drivers for me to further my academic experience. To be jointly awarded the Stanley Gray Fellowship is an overwhelming testament to the invaluable support IMarEST have continued to provide throughout my career and I cannot express my gratitude enough." Stephanie Lavelle, winner of the Stanley Gray Fellowship
More about Stephanie's PhD Research
Ecosystem and community-level impacts of macroplastic pollution are completely understudied as most research has been confined to assessing individuals, particularly charismatic species such as whales and turtles. This project will be the first investigation of its kind as she will analyse both lower and higher trophic level organisms in the marine food web so that we can consider the potential mechanisms by which plastic may cause integrated effects across the food web. She will do this through a combination of lab and field experiments, comparing ecologically similar sites with contrasting levels of plastic pollution.
Over the last year, this project has gone from strength to strength, initially gaining funding and support from UK charity Sea Sanctuaries Trust, to further funding and support from the University of Southampton. Sea Sanctuaries Trust and Stephanie both have a history of conservation efforts in Indonesia, so knew there was no better place to try and establish some fieldwork to complement their lab studies.
"I really feel it was the credibility I’ve gained as a member of IMarEST that led to us receiving support from both Sam Ratulangi University and the Indonesian Embassy to conduct this research in one of the worlds most heavily impacted and biologically treasured areas in the world. This partnership will not only further our understanding of the potential impacts of large volumes of floating macroplastic debris, but it will also allow us to gain an understanding of the potential sensitivity of temperate versus tropical environments."
Overall, this funding and research will go towards producing a strong baseline for considering the scale of potential threats from this rapidly growing waste crisis.
"If I could take this opportunity to specifically thank Dr Bev Mackenzie and Caitriona Hanley from IMarEST, who work admirably hard and have helped me with continuous opportunities; Simon Day from Sea Sanctuaries Trust and Dr. Clive Trueman from the University of Southampton who are really the founding fathers of this project and have shown an astonishing amount of support and confidence in me; and Miss Galuh Rarasanti from the Indonesian Embassy and Prof. Markus Lasut from Sam Ratulangi University who have made researching in Indonesia officially a possibility. I’d also like to thank my parents for their lifetime of support, but in particular for helping me in every way possible for this project. I’m really looking forward to working more with this fantastic team so that we can help understand and mitigate the damage from plastic pollution in the most effective way possible".
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