James Boon

Lancaster University

Email: james.boon@nottingham.ac.uk

James is an ENVISION DTP NERC funded PhD student based at the University of Nottingham, supervised by Dr Richard Field (University of Nottingham), Dr Sally Keith (Lancaster University) and Dr Dan Exton (Operation Wallacea). After completing a BSc (Hons) degree in Conservation Biology at Plymouth University, James completed an MSc in Marine Environmental Management at the University of York. His past research projects have explored enzyme activities in non-native bumblebees, global patterns in recreational trophy fishing, and changing fisheries management targets. His current work for his PhD is exploring the role of invasive lionfish on mesophotic coral reef ecosystems in the Caribbean with the use of robots. The project is in collaboration with Operation Wallacea, the US-based charity Robots in Service of the Environment (RSE) and the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Research Interests

James is broadly interested in the effects of environmental change on marine communities and the management of invasive species. His PhD is focused on characterising invasive lionfish (Pterois spp.) populations on Caribbean mesophotic coral ecosystems and determining their impact on native fish communities. To do this he will use prototype robots with the ability to reach depths beyond 200m, developed by RSE, to capture lionfish and conduct surveys of mesophotic communities. Using these data, James hopes to develop a spatially-structured demographic model to investigate lionfish population dynamics, explore different culling scenarios and develop hypotheses for optimal management strategies. James’ field work is primarily based at Operation Wallacea’s field sites in Honduras.

Other Profiles

Selected Publications