Academic Qualifications

2008-2009:- MSc Applied Marine Science (with Distinction), University of Plymouth. Thesis:  ‘The feeding ecology of the common dragonet, Callionymus lyra, with particular reference to the impacts of marine aggregate extraction in the UK’. MALSF funded bursary.

2005-2008:- BSc (Hons) Marine Biology (2:1), University of Portsmouth. Honors project: ‘The impact of the whale watching industry on the behavior of bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, Tenerife’.

Career Synopsis

Sept 2009 to present:- Marine Ecologist, Marine Ecological Surveys Ltd
2008:- Face to Face Recruiter, Royal National Lifeboats Institution (RNLI)
2007:- Volunteer, Atlantic Whale Foundation (AWF)

Since joining MESL Ross has been heavily involved with the dietary analysis of a variety of fish species through stomach content analysis as well as being involved with the processing and identification of benthic samples from a range of projects. His work has also involved multivariate analysis of spatial and temporal data using PRIMER and ArcGIS software and the determination of dietary trends through employing an assortment of feeding indices.       

Field Sampling

-    Epibenthic fauna: Otter trawl sampling to asses spatial and seasonal changes in the fish and epibenthos of the Lower Thames Estuary.
-    Benthic fauna: Hamon grab sampling to assess benthic communities associated with Sabellaria spinulosa aggregations in the North Sea.  
-    Water: CTD sampling to assess physiochemical properties of the Plym and Tamar Estuaries.
-    Cetacean fauna – Behavioral observation in the Canary Islands as part of an ongoing assessment of resident populations of bottlenose dolphin and short finned pilot whales.

Commercial Reports

Marine Ecological Surveys Limited, 2010. Spatial and Seasonal Changes in the Fish and Epibenthos of the Lower Thames Estuary 2009 (Prepared for DP World).

Memberships

The Fisheries Society of the British Isles (FSBI).