Dr Nicholas L Payne

Nick is an Assistant Professor in the School of Natural Sciences at Trinity College Dublin. He did his undergraduate degree and PhD at the University of Adelaide in South Australia, before doing postdocs in Sydney, Tokyo and London. He has studied sharks, teleosts and cuttlefish, and has ongoing field-sites in Ireland, Australia, and Hawaii. You can read about some of Nick's research interests here.

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2018 - Assistant Professor, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

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2016-2018 - Cascade CoFund postdoctoral fellow, University of Roehampton, London

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2013-2015 - Japan Society for the Promotion of Science postdoctoral fellow, National Institute for Polar Research, Japan

 

2011-2013 - Postdoctoral fellow, University of New South Wales, Australia

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2007-2011 - PhD, University of Adelaide, South Australia

Jenny Bortoluzzi

PhD student

Trinity College Dublin

Primary supervisor Andrew Jackson

Jenny started her PhD in 2018, on a project focusing on the ecology of large-bodied migratory marine predators such as sharks, billfishes and whales. She will be using stable isotope analysis, tagging technologies and computer-based modelling methods to study the trophic and spatial ecology of these populations, how individuals within them may have varying strategies and how human interactions may have impacted them in the past, present and future. Her primary supervisor is Andrew Jackson at TCD. Contact Jenny here or on Twitter @SharkyJenny

Chris Lawson

PhD student

University of Queensland, Australia

Primary supervisor Anthony Richardson

Chris commenced his PhD in 2017 on a project exploring the energetics of reef manta rays. He will combine respirometry, bomb calorimetry and bioenergetics modelling to learn all about how these amazing animals manage their energy requirements, and influence ecosystems. Contact Chris here or on Twitter @ChrisL_Lawson

Glen Wightman

Tom Clarke

PhD student

 Queen's University Belfast, UK

Primary supervisor Jon Houghton

PhD student

Flinders University, Australia

Primary supervisor Charlie Huveneers

Glen (pictured above, on the left) is doing his PhD part-time while being employed as a scientific officer for Inland Fisheries Ireland. Glen's project is on the stunning sea trout that inhabit Ireland's estuarine habitats. He uses acoustic telemetry, accelerometer loggers and lipid analysers to identify the role of things like temperature and body condition in determining movement patterns of these animals throughout Ireland. You can contact Glen here

Tom started his PhD in 2018, and is working on yellowtail kingfish Seriola lalandi. He will use a combination of field and lab work to study the spawning behavior and movement of the species in southern Australia. His primary supervisor is Charlie Huveneers at Flinders University. You can contact Tom here.

Jacinta Kong

Postdoctoral Research & Teaching Fellow

Trinity College Dublin

Jacinta is currently working as a Postdoctoral Research and Teaching Fellow on a Science Foundation Ireland funded project awarded to Nick Payne (18/SIRG/5549). This project aims to use broad scale comparative datasets and in-situ field measurements of ectotherm thermal niches to investigate how temperature generates macroecological patterns. Specifically, Jacinta is interested in using models to investigate the mechanisms and evolutionary processes that generate these patterns. You can contact Jacinta here or on Twitter @jacintakong

Lucy Harding

PhD student

Trinity College Dublin

Lucy began her PhD on a Science Foundation Ireland-funded project in 2019. Her project is focused on linking behaviour and physiology to the thermal niches of fish. She will combine comparative analyses of large published datasets, tagging of fish in the wild, and  lab-based respirometry experiments with captive fishes.  She is co-supervised by Andrew Jackson and Ian Donohue. You can contact Lucy here or on Twitter @Luce_Harding

Haley Dolton

PhD student

Trinity College Dublin

Haley commences a PhD at Trinity College Dublin in 2019, with supervision from Nick Payne. She will use a variety of electronic tagging methods and modelling to explore the thermal biology of Ireland's large sharks, including basking and sixgill sharks. Haley did her undergraduate degree at Oxford Brookes and then an MSc at Exeter University, researching the amazing basking sharks off the Isle of Man. Contact Haley here or on Twitter @haleydolton