Research is conducted in the extensive laboratory facilities in the department, in the Aquatic Services Unit, the Cooperage, at Lough Hyne Research Station, Fota Wildlife Park, Kilworth Forest and other field sites throughout Ireland as well as locations abroad.

A number of studentships are offered each year.

Research Projects
John Davenport

1. Postdoctoral Assistant, Dr Sandra Irwin (UCC President’s Fund)

a) Use of novel oxygen measuring equipment (‘optodes’) to study marine microhabitats
b) Study of iron budgets of dogfish embryos
2. Ph.D Student 1. Lesley Lewis (self-funded) [jointly supervised with Dr Tom Kelly]
a) Study of effects of macroalgal blooms on the benthos and birds of Clonakilty Estuary
3. PhD Student 2. Kate Rawlinson (Higher Education Authority ERI funding)
Study of dynamics of zooplankton of Lough Hyne
4. PhD Student 3. Clare Lehane (Enterprise Ireland funded)
Study of carnivory in bivalve molluscs
5. PhD Student 4. Michael White (self-funded, overseas student)
Conservation biology of loggerhead sea turtles (in Kephalonia)
6. PhD Student 5. Lisa Kitson (self-funded, overseas student)
Biology and ecology of endangered endemic Bermudian skink (in Bermuda)
7. PhD Student 6. Marc Shorten (IRCSET funded) [jointly supervised with Dr Tom Kelly]
Use of ground-effect and other flight mechanisms by sea birds, shore birds and passerines.
8. Research Technician Aine Healey
a) UV-resistance of the high shore copepod Tigriopus
b) Effect of medium viscocity on locomotion in Artemia
Paul Giller
Catchment Management Project
Tom Kelly
The Ecology of Seabirds and Marine Mammals in a fluctuating Marine Environment.
PhD Student: Daphne Roycroft
Alan Myers

The Amphipoda of the North East Atlantic and Mediterranean
Rachael King, Alan Myers and David McGrath
John O Halloran
FORESTRY WATER POLLUTION
Mieke Johnson Ph.D Student (Dept)
Worku Leggese Ph.D Student
Stuart Warner Research Ass (ERI/Dept)
Sharon Duggan Rsearch Ass. (Dept)
BIRD GROUP
Anita Donaghy Ph.D Student (ERI/Dept)
Katherine Kelleher Ph.D Student
Alison Taylor Research Assistant (Dept/ERI)
Sinead Cummins Ph.D Student
Una Doyle
RUNTOX
Mr Gearóid Webb M.Sc. Student (ERI/Dept) Thesis title: The Impact of Road Run-off on Stream Macroinvertebrate Community Structure in the South of Ireland.
Ms Sarah O'Reilly Ph.D Student (ERI/Dept)
VITOX
Dr Mike Kilemade Post Doc (ERI/Dept)
BIOMASSTOX
Dr Mark Hartl Post Doc (ERI/Dept)
Mr Ben Coughlan Ph.D student (ERI/Dept)
BIOSCAPE: biodiversity in forested landscapes
Dr Josephine Pithon Post Doc (ERI/Dept)
Ms Karen Mullen Ph.D student (ERI/Dept)
Ms Deirdre Mullins UL Ph.D Student (ERI/Dept)
BIOFOREST
Dr Tom Gittings Post Doc (Dept/ERI)
Dr Mark Wilson Post Doc (Dept/ERI)
Ms Anne Oxborough Ph.D student (Dept/ERI)
Susan Rafferty
Comminandes Project www.ucc.ie/research/comminandes
Emer Rogan
MSc thesis Diet of juvenile grey seals, Halichoerus grypus,
with particular reference to blubber fatty acid composition
MSc Fisheries
Evelyn Philpott Email: Evelyn_Philpott@hotmail.com

Cetacean and seabirds at Sea

Based at the CMRC, this project is funded by the Petroleum Infrastructure
Programme (PIP)
Researchers Dr Oliver O'Cadhla Email O.Ocadhla@ucc.ie
Mick Mackey Email M.Mackey@ucc.ie
http://www.ucc.ie/research/crc/Pages/projects/cetacea.htm
Ecology of marine mammals and seabirds in a fluctuating marine environment
HEA project
Post doctoral researcher: Dr Simon Ingram Email S.Ingram@ucc.ie
Ph.D student: Daphne Roycroft Email D.Roycroft@student.ucc.ie
http://eri.ucc.ie/pages/sra_one/oneproject_five.htm

BIOCET:

Bioaccumulation of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Small Cetaceans
in European Waters: Transport Pathways and Impact on Reproduction
EU 5th framework project
Ph.D student: Sinead Murphy. Email SinMurphy@hotmail.com
Ph.D thesis Aspects of the biology of common dolphins, Delphinus delphis
in the North East Atlantic
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/biocet/
Padraig Whelan

1. MSc student. Emeline Bécart (National Parks and Wildlife Service funded) [co-supervisor Dr Mark Emmerson]
Title: Conservation status of Bufo calamita (Laurenti) - Natterjack toad in Ireland and effects of land use.

2. MSc student. Julia Feliz (self-funded overseas student).
Title: Gaultheria mucronata – Biology and distribution within Glenveagh National Park, County Donegal

5. MSc student. Philip Brett (Enterprise Ireland funded) [co-supervisor Prof. Peter Jones].
Title: Development of a closed zero-discharge system for domestic waste-water treatment from small housing clusters

9. PhD student. Lisa Dolan (Ircset funded).
Title: Roadside landscapes as contributors to the conservation of native biodiversity in Ireland

10. PhD student. Amy Dale (Crawford Hayes funded) [co-supervisor Dr Rob McAllen]
Title: Spatial and seasonal variability of subtidal Zostera marina beds and associated fauna in Southwest Ireland

11. PhD student. Brian Barrett (ERI – ERTDI funded) [co-supervisor Dr Ned Dwyer.
Title: Active microwave remote sensing of soil moisture

12. PhD student. John Devaney (Departmental studentship funded) [co-supervisor Dr Marcel Jansen]

Title: Ecological factors controlling the regeneration of Yew (Taxus baccata) in Southwest Ireland

13. PhD student Ruth Enright (Ircset funded) [co-supervisor Dr Ruth Ramsay].
Title: Behavioural ecology of the Old Irish Goat

14. PhD student. Rosalyn Thompson (EPA-STRIVE funded) [co-supervisor Dr Mark Emmerson].
Title: Impact of road landscape treatments on biodiversity and ecosystem services within road corridors and adjacent ecosystems

15. PhD student. Erin O’Rourke (EPA-STRIVE funded) [co-supervisor Dr Mark Emmerson].
Title: Impacts of energy crops on biodiversity and ecosystem services