I completed my undergraduate degree in BSc (Hons) Applied Freshwater and Marine Biology at ATU. During this time I completed my research project looking at the teleost fish component of the diet of stranded common dolphins in Irish waters. I subsequently completed a masters in Applied Marine Conservation at ATU, during which my research project involved looking at the persistence and accumulation of corpora scars in common dolphins.
I am currently undertaking my PhD titled “Improving the knowledge on the conservation status of small cetaceans”, funded through the EU Horizon Marine Beacon project under Work Package 3. My research aims to investigate the conservation status of common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) and harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) and develop indicators for future monitoring. Using a long-term dataset, this study aims to investigate long-term trends in survival, mortality, population structure, and reproductive activity alongside the impact stressors may have on these parameters.