Research group Grupp Bradshaw
Effects of human and natural disturbances on marine and brackish water ecosystems.
Our research interests are aquatic ecosystems and the effects of disturbance.
Currently, most of our research is on the effects of bottom trawling. We are looking at how this physical disturbance affects the seafloor and suspends sediment, and the implications of this for benthic fauna and ecosystem functioning (e.g. ecological traits, nutrient cycling, carbon storage and contaminant release ).
We also have a strong focus on environmental contamination, particularly on how ecological processes are affected, and affect, the fate of contaminants and their effects. We have investigated interactions between contaminants and environmental factors, combinations of contaminants, and sublethal and indirect effects in ecosystems. We are one of the few research groups in Europe working with aquatic radioecology, the branch of ecotoxicology that studies the transport and effects of radionuclides in the aquatic environment. Projects here have included experimental work with radioactive substances in freshwater and Baltic model ecosystems, and field sampling off Fukushima to investigate transfer pathways of Cs-137 in marine foodwebs after the 2011 nuclear accident. However, we’ve also worked with a range of other contaminants, such as flame retardants, PCBs, PAHs, dioxins and metals.
Group members
Group managers
Clare Bradshaw
Professor
Members
Laura Seidel
Postdoctoral researcher
