Overview

I am a marine biologist and fish ecologist, with particular interests in the behaviour of coral reef fishes, bioacoustics, effects of climate change on marine ecosystems, fisheries, conservation and management. I lead a dynamic research group of ~10 postdocs, PhD and Masters students. Following a NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellowship I have ongoing links with industry and policy on the themes of European Fisheries and Climate Change, and Anthropogenic Noise and Marine Ecosystems. I work closely with Cefas and the Met Office, am an active member of the IQOE Science Committee, and have been an Academic Advisor and featured scientist in Blue Planet 2.

My work combines fieldwork, often through expeditions to remote and challenging environments around the world, with laboratory-based behaviour experiments, data-mining, and computer modelling.

My research focuses on:

• The impact of anthropogenic noise on marine ecosystems
• The effects of climate change on fish and fisheries
• Sensory and orientation behaviour of marine organisms
• Dispersal, connectivity and biogeography
• Coral reef restoration
• Fisheries and Conservation Management

My recent TEDx 2019 Talk: Changing the Soundtrack of the Ocean

BBC Earth film on my underwater acoustics work

Click here to watch my Facebook Live Q&A session

Publications and Research Profiles

• Google Scholar
• ResearchGate
• Twitter: @DrSteveSimpson

Currrent opportunities for postgraduate study

• I welcome discussions with potential Masters by Research students interested in undertaking a 12–24 month research project associated with current funded research programmes.

Short films on my research and knowledge exchange activities

• Changing the Soundtrack of the Ocean (TEDx 2019 Talk)
• Fish Sounds: Do fish talk to each other? (BBC Earth Film)
• A new approach to sustainable fisheries​ (Research Feature)
• Minimising the impact of man-made noise on marine life (Research Feature)
• The Fishing Industry and Climate Change (Interview at Withdrawn Installation with artist Luke Jerram) (also on YouTube)
• How Knowledge Exchange can benefit both industry and academia
• The value of combining different scientific studies
• Developing a stakeholder led vision for fisheries in the year 2050
• How using a visioning approach can help combat today's issues

Impact Case Studies from my Research

• Understanding changes in fisheries due to warming in the North East Atlantic to inform industry, policy and management decisions
• Making noise: research on reef fish bioacoustics leads to new technologies that could aid in restoring fish populations

Recent activites linking Research with Impact

-> Impacts of Marine Noise

• Managing a NERC grant and supervising several PhDs, in association with Cefas, AIMS and Natural England, to explore impacts of underwater noise on fish ecology and populations.
• Member of the International Quiet Ocean Experiment (IQOE) Science Committee, overseen by the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) and the Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO)
• Managed a 3-year KTP with an Associate embedded in HR Wallingford Ltd to develop a simulation model of impacts of noise on marine organisms. This included large-scale acoustic experiments in a dry dock in Newcastle.
• Supervised a NERC Business Internship for 6 months for a postdoc to work with Sustainable Marine Energy Ltd and HR Wallingford Ltd on assessing impact of noise of a new tidal turbine device being installed in the Solent.
• Built a mobile lab with Ecocean, a French Ecosystem Restoration company in Montpellier to assess impacts of marine noise on fish.
• Working with Marine Scotland Science and a co-supervised PhD student to assess impacts of pile driving noise on salmon.
• Am a UK representative on the EU Evidence Group on Impacts of noise in the Marine Environment for European Parliament, including presenting my research in Brussels.

-> Fisheries and Climate Change

• Chaired a session at the Blue Marine Foundation / Fishmongers' Compary conference in November 2017 on "Best Practice in World Fisheries: Lessons for Brexit"
• Co-wrote the 2017 Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP) report on Impacts of Climate Change on Fisheries which was summarised in the 2017 - 10-year Report Card.
• Collaborating with a Penryn-based social scientist, a PhD and two Masters students to develop a vulnerability analysis for SW fisheries, with involvement of the Newlyn, Penzance, Plymouth and Brixham fleets.
• Embedded a MSc Food Security student in the Cornish Sardine Management Association to understand and predict biological responses to climate change in pelagic fish species.
• Organised a thinktank in London in September 2014 with representatives from science, industry, consumers, policy, law and politics to develop a "Vision of Sustainable Fisheries in 2050."
• Developed a legal argument with a marine lawyer that demonstrates the illegality of overfishing, empowering the UK fishery minister for negotiations in Brussels (Plenty More Fish in the Sea?; Covered in the Times by Ben Webster)
• Wrote the 2013 Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP) report on Impacts of Climate Change on Fish which was presented to Westminster in November 2013.

Research Findings and News Stories

• Underwater Sound in Blue Planet II - evening lecture hosted by Intrepid Explorers at the Lyme Regis Marine Theatre
• Habitat degradation negatively affects auditory settlement behavior of coral reef fishes (PNAS paper; Video abstract; Exeter press release; BBC video summary; Daily Mail article; ABC article)
• Blue Planet II and the Future of our Oceans (guest lecture to the Baleares International College, Mallorca)
• Pleased to join the Given Time Fleet Science Sailing for Science Programme as Science Adviser
• Marine Noise Is Mentally and Physically Disturbing Fish - Hakai Magazine Feature
• Fish have ears, so man-made noise threatens their survival - Exeter Research News
• Fishes in a changing world: learning from the past to promote sustainability of fish populations (Discussion paper in Special FSBI17 Issue of JFB led by research group)
• Understanding fish populations (Introduction Paper for Special FSBI17 Issue of JFB)
• Blue Planet II and the Future of our Oceans (talk to Y4 at Our Lady of Muswell Primary School, London)
• Blue Planet II and the Future of our Oceans (guest lecture to whole of Coldfall Primary School, London)
• Our Planet, Our Borough! (Public Lecture + Q&A organised by Caroline West MP)
• Excellent day at the Blue Belt Charter lauch in the House of Commons with my three UKOT project students 
• Effect of elevated CO2 and small boat noise on the kinematics of predator–prey interactions (Proc Roy Soc B paper)
• The Future of the Oceans (Science Week Lecture at Environment Agency)
• Underwater Sound, Blue Planet II and the Science of the Oceans (Series of Science Week activities at Horfield CE Primary School, Bristol)
• Underwater Sound in Blue Planet II (Series of Science Week lectures at Brunel Academy, Bristol)
• Impact of motorboats on fish embryos depends on engine type (Conservation Physiology paper)
• University of Exeter Natural History Society (Evening Lecture)
• The Future of the Oceans (Travelling with Vision Lecture at Arup HQ)
• Understanding Blue Planet II: Coral Reefs (Evening Q&A at the Marine Biological Association)
• School is out on noisy reefs: the effect of boat noise on predator learning and survival of juvenile coral reef fishes (Proc Roy Soc B Paper)
• Sounds Good? The Acoustic Monitoring of Coral-Reef Health (BioScience Interview)
• Honoured to be listed in Devon and Cornwall's 50 best and brightest - The West50
• The mysteries of the deep: behind the scenes of BBC Blue Planet II (Public Lecture; YouTube Version; Devon Live Prequel; Devon Live Report)
• Underwater Sound in Blue Planet II (Intrepid Explorers Lecture; Podcast Version)
• Massive Fish Orgy Produces One of the Loudest Noises under the Sea (comment on emerging research for Scientific American)
• Cod Love: The secret sounds of the seas (Interview on BBC R4 The World This Weekend)
• Recording sound in a not so silent world (Feature on Blue Planet II website)
• Noise pollution makes fish bad parents, but bubble curtains help (WIRED Article) 
• Blue Planet 2: How we hear the whales sing the blues underwater (Sunday Express article on acoustics in Blue Planet II)
• Guest Speaker for Digital Explorer's Coral Live 2017: including George Heriot's School Edinburgh
• Octopus invasion on Welsh beach blamed on effects of recent storms (Telegraph comment)
• How did that get there? Plastic chunks on Arctic ice show how far pollution has spread (Observer Article on recent Arctic Mission by PhD student Tim Gordon)
• Cod and haddock go north due to warming UK seas, as foreign fish arrive (Observer Article on recent paper from PhD graduate Dr Bryony Townhill)
• Boat noise disrupts fish co-operation (new paper led by postdoc Dr Sophie Nedelec in Scientific Reports)
• Lead Convenor for FSBI17: the 50th Anniversary Symposium of the FSBI
• Motor-boat noise makes fish bad parents, leading to the death of their babies (Proc Roy Soc B paper)
• Steve Simpson discusses coral reef acoustics in Underwater Acoustics features on International Dawn Chorus radio broadcast (03:54 in this link)
• Steve Simpson and PhD student Tim Gordon present latest findings at Pint of Science event
• Underwater acoustics research featured in BBC4 Sound Waves: The Symphony of Physics (with Helen Czerski)
• Fish Accents & Aquatic Dawn Chorus - Mooney Goes Wild - RTÉ Radio Interview
• Brits encouraged to give up traditional fish and chips as UK waters fill with exotic fish (Sunday Express article)
• Fish recorded singing dawn chorus on reefs just like birds (New Scientist article)
• This fish has a love song and it sounds like a windshield wiper (New Scientist article)
• Exeter professor honoured for world-class fish research (2016 FSBI Medal recipient)
• Repeated exposure to noise increases tolerance in a coral reef fish (Environmental Pollution paper)
• Coral Triangle revealed as a net source of transoceanic diversity (Biology Letters paper)
• Repeated exposure reduces the response to impulsive noise in European seabass (Global Change Biology paper)
• Interview for BBC 5 Live on Coral Bleaching (broadcast on Drivetime show on Monday 30 May 2016)
• Discussion on BBC Radio Bristol about recent Coral Bleaching (broadcast on the Laura Rawlings show on Monday 30 May 2016)
• Oceanic noise pollution: You cannot see it, but it is there (Interview with German journalist Nele Roessler)
• Is it a crocodile? Is it a dolphin? Chinese fishermen stunned after netting mysterious monster fish (Simpson identifies mystery creature for the Daily Mail)
• The overlooked commotion of particle motion in the ocean (Methods in Ecology and Evolution paper)
• Motorboat noise gives predators a deadly advantage (Nature Communications paper, Science Report, Guardian Report, Washington Post Report)
• Combined impacts of elevated CO2 and anthropogenic noise on European sea bass (ICES Journal of Marine Science paper from 3rd year project student Danni Poulton)
• Minimising the impact of man-made noise on marine life (Short Film: University of Exeter Research Feature)
• Stress from noise may be short-lived (Royal Society Open Science paper)
• Scientist helps bring Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef into UK homes (Contribution to David Attenborough's Great Barrier Reef Series)
• Baby fish will be lost at sea in acidified oceans (Proceedings of the Royal Society B paper)
• Impacts of noise on the behaviour, growth and development of larval cod (Proceedings of the Royal Society B paper)
• Historical data hold secrets of one of UK’s favourite fish (Impacts of climate change on Arctic Cod explored using historic data in PLoS ONE paper)
• Working with multiple partners to create a different world in 2050 (Partnership in Focus Feature on Fisheries 2050 Initiative)
• The Fishing Industry and Climate Change (Interview at Withdrawn Installation with artist Luke Jerram) (also on YouTube)
• Natural Histories: Burbot (BBC Radio 4 Documentary) and The decline of the 'disgusting' burbot (BBC Website)
• How ocean temperatures are affecting the fish we eat (CBBC Newsround Feature)
• Climate change and Fish & Chips (BBC Breakfast TV interview)
• Warming seas pose habitat risk for fishy favourites (Nature Climate Change paper covered in: BBC, Guardian, Times, Independent, Telegraph, Independent, Daily Mail)
• Article and film showcasing how Knowledge Exchange can benefit both industry and academia
• You can hear the coral reefs dying (Mar Ecol Prog Ser paper: Mail article, BBC Radio Interview (at 1:20:45))
• Expedition finds Nemo can travel great distances to connect populations (PLOS ONE paper: New Scientist article, National Geographic article, Guardian article, Mail article)
• Major summer project on impacts of noise: Behind the scenes at 'the biggest fish tank you have ever seen' (Featured in Planet Earth Podcast: How marine life responds to underwater noise)
• Man-made noise makes fish more susceptible to predators (Global Change Biology paper; NERC Planet Earth Report)
• Large gurnard and chips: How our fish-eating habits will change as warmer sea temperatures mean the disappearance of cod from UK waters (Daily Mail article on changing fisheries due to warming seas)
• Gurnard and chips, please: warmer seas change UK fish stock as cod head north (Guardian / Observer article on impacts of warming seas on UK fisheries)
• Boat noise impacts development and survival of vital marine invertebrates (Scientific Reports Paper)
• Noise pollution impacts fish species differently (PLoS ONE Paper)
• Biosciences hosts high-calibre summer students (featuring the summer bursaries for Fiona Birch (BBSRC) and Jess Lister (FSBI))
• Killing Nemo (film by 3rd year project students showcasing our research)
• Developing and testing models of fish behaviour around tidal turbines (NERC Internship Award)
• Water racket - fish reactions to noise vary between species (Animal Behaviour paper)
• New partnership launched to predict impact of underwater noise on fish (NERC / TSB Knowledge Transfer Partnership)
• Climate change prompts 'mackerel wars' (Global Post interview)
• Crabs & ship noise (BBC Radio Cornwall interview)
• Biosciences undergraduate to explore impacts of climate change on the Newlyn fishery (BES / Fishmongers Company funding)
• Ship noise impairs feeding and and heightens predation risk for crabs (Animal Behaviour paper)
• Boat noise stops fish finding home (MEPS paper)
• Ship noise makes crabs get crabby (Biology Letters paper, Scientific American podcast)
• Tropical plankton exodus by 2100 (New Scientist article)
• Red gurnard and chips please (p7, Cabot Institute Report 2012)
• Sustainable Fisheries Schools Resources (Digital Explorer Interview)
• Great Barrier Reef in decline (Live interview with Huw Edwards on BBC 5 o'clock News)
• TEDxBristol Talk: Future of the Oceans
• Cabot Institute Podcast on Future of Fisheries - Burst Radio (Aug 2012)
• Stranded whale in Severn Estuary (BBC Points West Interview on marine noise)
• Bristol marine biologist explains how fish find home (ICRS Expert Panel)
• A test of the senses in search of a shoal mate (Ecology paper)
• Some like it hot – European fish stocks changing with warming seas (Current Biology paper, Guardian article, BBC article)
• Steve Simpson awarded NERC KE Fellowship
• Ocean acidification leaves clownfish deaf to predators (Biology Letters paper, BBC article, CBC Quirks and Quarks Interview, Naked Scientists Interview, Science News article)
• Crustaceans Crave a Little Quiet (news feature in Science)
• Secrets of the Night Reef: Noise that Can Terrify (Coral magazine article)
• Rowdy residents warn crustaceans away from perilous reefs (PLoS ONE paper, NERC Article)
• Latest research featured on NERC Planet Earth Podcast
• Tracking the Ocean's Next Generation (Science News feature article)
• A familiar racket helps fish find a suitable home (Coral Reefs paper)
• Effects of El Niño land South Pacific reef fish in hot water (Global Change Biology paper, NERC Article)
• Adventures in a sea of noise (re:search magazine article)
• Taking the pulse of coral reefs (Journal of Marine Biology and Ecology paper)
• Marine Pied Piper leads Nemo astray (Behavioral Ecology paper)
• Baby corals dance their way home (PLoS ONE paper)

Qualifications

2000–2004 PhD, University of York, UK
1998–1999 MRes Marine & Coastal Ecology & Environmental Management, University of York, UK
1995–1998 BSc Marine Biology, University of Liverpool, UK

Career

2019–present Professor of Marine Biology & Global Change, University of Exeter
2016–2019 Associate Professor in Marine Biology & Global Change, University of Exeter
2012–2016 Senior Lecturer in Marine Biology & Global Change, University of Exeter
2011–2014 NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellow
2011 Postdoctoral Researcher, Defra-funded Anthropogenic Noise project, University of Bristol, UK
2008–2011 Postdoctoral Researcher, NERC Sustainable Marine Bioresources Initiative, University of Bristol, UK
2007–2008 Royal Society International Fellow and EPHE Postdoctoral Fellow, Université de Perpignan
2004–2007 NERC Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh, UK

Research group links

• Environmental Biology

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Research

Research interests

Background

My first degree was in Marine Biology at the University of Liverpool (BSc Hons, 1998), during which I worked in Mozambique assessing the Quirimba Archipelago for Marine Protected Area status. Inspired by my time in the tropics, I followed this with a Masters degree at the University of York in Marine & Coastal Ecology & Environmental Management (MRes, 1999) where, under the guidance of Profs Rupert Ormond and Callum Roberts, I completed an Internship in the British Virgin Islands designing fisheries management tools for the developing world. I then spent a year working with the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) in Western Australia, Raleigh International in Belize and with a UK environmental consultancy (CMACS). I completed my PhD (2000–2004) at the University of York supervised by Dr Calvin Dytham and Dr Mark Meekan (AIMS), focusing on the influence of behaviour of larval coral reef fish on dispersal and implications for population connectivity. I continued this line of study, combining field studies, electrophysiology, choice experiments and individual-based modelling, with a NERC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship which I held at the University of Edinburgh (2004–2008, working with Prof Victoria Braithwaite). I moved to Bristol in 2008 to work with Dr Martin Genner on the effects of climate change on European fish communities and implications for effective fisheries and conservation management under the NERC Sustainable Marine Bioresources theme. In parallel I developed some strong collaborations to study impacts of marine anthropogenic noise (shipping, pile-driving, drilling, etc.), and was Co-Investigator on a major Defra-funded project with Prof Andy Radford (Bristol). I also held a NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellow (2011–2014) which enabled me to develop strong links between the research community and industry and policy on the themes of European Fisheries and Climate Change, and Anthropogenic Noise and Marine Ecosystems. I joined the University of Exeter as a Senior Lecturer in Marine Biology and Global Change in Sept 2012, where I now have a thriving research group working on effects of climate change on European fisheries, and impacts of anthropogenic noise on marine ecosystems.

Research networks

Main Collaborators

Prof Andy Radford & Dr Martin Genner (University of Bristol)

Prof Simon Jennings (ICES)

Dr John Pinnegar (Cefas/University of East Anglia)

Dr Mark Meekan (Australian Institute of Marine Science)

Prof Phillip Munday & Prof Mark McCormick (James Cook University)

Prof Ivan Nagelkerken & Dr Tullio Rossi (University of Adelaide)

Dr Suzie Mills & Dr Ricardo Beldade (CRIOBE Moorea French Polynesia)

Dr Annie Linley (National Oceanographic Centre)

Dr Jonathan Tinker (Met Office Hadley Centre)

Additional Recent Collaborators

Dr Marc Holderied, Prof Daniel Robert, Prof Andy Ridgwell, Dr Erica Hendy (University of Bristol)

Dr Andrew Jeffs & Dr Craig Radford (University of Auckland New Zealand)

Prof Edd Codling & Prof David Smith (University of Essex UK)

Prof Calvin Dytham (University of York UK)

Dr Maud Ferrari & Prof Doug Chivers (University of Saskatchewan Canada)

Dr David Lecchini (CRIOBE Moorea French Polynesia)

Prof Mark Johnson (National University Ireland Galway)

Prof David Sims (Marine Biological Association UK)

Dr Julia Blanchard (University of Tasmania Australia)

Dr Serge Planes (Université de Perpignan France)

Dr Monica Gagliano (University of Western Australia)

Dr Hong Yan (Academia Sinica Taiwan)

Dr Matt Wittenrich (Florida Institute of Technology)

Dr Claire Paris (Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science Florida)

Dr Jen McIlwain & Dr Andrew Halford (Curtin University)

Dr Michel Claereboudt (Sultan Qaboos University Oman)

Dr Mark Vermeij (Carmabi Foundation Curacao)

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External Engagement and Impact

Awards/Honorary fellowships

2019 - ZSL Science Medal Winner

2016 – FSBI Medal Winner

2013/14, 2014/15 – Ranked by Exeter students as top lecturer in Biosciences

2015 – Runner up for Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation

2008 – Duke of Edinburgh Prize for Oman Expedition

2003 – Runner up for Royal Institution / L’Oreal Graduate of the Year

2002 – Best Presentation, Ecology & Evolutionary Ethology of Fishes conference, Québec

2001 – Winner, Daily Telegraph (20-27) Young Science Writer Award: “Solo’s Odyssey”

Committee/panel activities

Science Committee Member: International Quiet Ocean Experiment (IQOE)

NERC College

UK Representative: ICES Working Group for Fish Ecology

Committee Member: Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) - Coral Reef Acoustics

Academic Representative: Underwater Sound Forum

Academic Representative: SeaFish Risk Assessment for Sustainable Seafood

I was the lead author for UK Parliament 2013 Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP) report on climate change and fish, and co-author of 2017 MCCIP Report on Impacts of Climte Change on Fisheries

I was a NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellow (Cabot Institute Fellows Page / Blog), so alongside my research I develped lasting collaborations with research end-users (aka the real world), including policy makers, marine industries, fisheries scientists and conservation groups. I have a diverse range of partners, including Defra, the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas, the IUCN, the UK Underwater Sound Forum, the fishing industry, the offshore renewable energy sector and the Institute of Marine Engineering Science and Technology, with whom I organise workshops, develop policy documents and policy briefings and build science-industry links to ensure the science we produce is of real value to society.

I am committed to developing a sustainable, productive, prosperous, and aesthetically inspiring marine environment from which future generations can draw economic benefit and enjoyment in equal measures.

Editorial responsibilities

I have reviewed for >15 funding agencies, >50 journals and >5 books and examined >15 postgraduate theses.

Invited lectures

I have given >10 Invited conference talks, >40 Conference Presentations, >40 University Seminars, >20 student/collaborator talks at conferences, >20 public lectures and >10 invited talks to policy makers

Media Coverage

I am an experienced communicator (Daily Telegraph Science Writer 2001) with a passion for delivering science to the public and to children. I have provided expert interviews (e.g. BBC News, BBC Countryfile, BBC Radio 4, New Scientist), given public lectures (e.g. TEDx (twice), Edinburgh Filmhouse, Southbank Centre), organised ecotourism events (e.g. Sea & Learn on Saba), and led biodiversity initiatives in secondary and primary schools.

My research has been widely covered by:

Television: BBC1 "David Attenborough's Great Barrier Reef" documentary

Radio: BBC R4 “Sound of Life” documentary, CBC “Quirks & Quarks” features, NPR interview, ABC Australia Interviews, Deutschland Radio interview, Radio Sweden Interview, NERC podcasts

Newspapers: Guardian, Independent, Daily Telegraph, Financial Times, New York Times, LA Times, Herald Tribune, Seattle Times, The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald

Science/Specialist publications: Science Random Samples, Science Online, Nature Online, New Scientist News, Scientific American, The Scientist, NERC Planet Earth, National Geographic

For hyperlinks, please see Research Page

Research funding

Recent Funding

2018 - EMFF - Scientists and small-scale fisheries creating quality and sustainability standard (£35k)
2018 – Ecocean-Exeter-Bristol – Habitat and fisheries restoration (£80k)
2017 – EMFF / Natural England funded project to assess the Live Wrasse Fishery (£80k)
2017 – Vice-Chancellor PhD award for Kieran McCloskey - Effects of noise on nesting fish
2016 – Royal Society Research Grant (£15k)
2016 – NERC Standard Grant - Motorboat and fish reproduction project (£636k)
​2016 – Exeter-Bristol-AIMS-Cefas GW4+ Studentship (£50k)
2015 – Bristol-Exeter-Cefas GW4+ Studentship (£50k)
2014 – NERC MREKEP, GW4+ and Exeter-NERC Impact Accelerator funding (>£50k)
2014 – Marine Scotland-Exeter-Bristol Marine Noise project (£50k)
2014 – Exeter-Bristol-Cefas GW4+ Studentship (£50k)
2014 – 2 x Exeter GW4+ Studentships (£50k)
2014 – Ecocean-Exeter-Bristol Marine Noise project (€300k)
2013 – Cefas-CASE PhD studentship (£50k)
2013 – NERC/TSB Knowledge Transfer Partnership with HR Wallingford (£300k) - Academic Lead
2012 – WUN Research Development Fund (£14k)
2012 – FCT Portugal – Ocean acidification and fish (€122k)
2012 – Marine Scotland – Hearing in salmonids (£10k)
2012 – NERC-CASE PhD Studentship (£50k)
2012 – ARC funding to work with Mark McCormick at Lizard Island (£4k)
2012 – NERC KE Fellowship Extension (£30k)
2012 – NERC Impact Case Study Grant Exeter (£5k)
2012 – NERC Impact Case Study Grant Bristol (£10k)
2011 – FSBI Travel Grant (£1000)
2011 – Bristol Marine Noise Workshop: SOFI fund (£7650), MREKE (£7650), USF (£500)
2011 – NERC KE Fellowship (£103k)
2011 – ANNiMs otolith grant (A$300k)
2010 – NERC PhD studentship (£60k)
2010 – Bristol Research Committee grant (£2,000)
2010 – Defra Anthropogenic Sound (£600k)
2010 – London Fisheries Symposium Grant (£200)
2010 – BBSRC Public Engagement Award for Biodiversity Week (£4,647)
2010 – PISCES International Travel Grant to attend International Symposium of Climate Change Effects on Fish and Fisheries in Sendai, Japan (£1,066)
2010 – ARC funding to work with Phil Munday at James Cook University (£769)
2009 – AIMS Visiting Academic Grant (£2,500)
2008 – CRISP Grant for work in Moorea (€87,780)

Additional Grants with my students, postdocs and collaborators

2019 – Exeter Education Incubator for undergraduate participation in reef restoration project (£2k)
2019 – FSBI Summer Bursary for undergraduate participation in Live Wrasse Fishery project (£2k)
2019 – Mars Sustanability Solutions funding for Indonesia reef restoration expedition (8k)
2016 – Exeter Annual Fund grant for student Sustainable Fisheries project (£2k)
2013 – Society of Biology/British Ecological Society and Fishmongers Company Internship (£2k)
2012 – NERC Business Internship for my PhD Student Irene Voellmy (£16k)
2012 – NERC Business Internship for my postdoc Rick Bruintjes (£16k)
2012 – Royal Society Newton Fellowship and AXA Fellowship for Cosima Porteus (with Rod Wilson; £400k)
2012 – UWA Travel Grant for Adam Roundtry (with Mark Meekan; £2k)
2009 – EU studentship for Irene Voellmy (with Andy Radford) (£49k)
2009 – Research Committee Summer studentship for Julius Piercy (with Andy Radford)

Workshops/Conferences organised

I was lead convener for the 2017 50th Anniversary Symposium of the Fisheries Society of the British Isles

I have convened symposia at international conferences, including:

2017 – Convener, Acoustic Ecology of Coral Reefs, Indo-Pacific Fish Conference, Tahiti
2012 – Convener, Larval ecology symposium, International Coral Reef Symposium, Cairns
2010 – Convener, Larval behaviour symposium, Larval Biology conference, Wellington
2006 – Convener, Marine bioacoustics symposium, Ocean Sciences conference, Honolulu

I have organised conferences and workshops, including

2015 – Convener, Marine Anthropogenic Noise Knowledge Exchange, Newcastle
2015 – Convener, Sustainable Fisheries in 2050 ThinkTank, London
2012 – Convener, Biological Effects of Marine Noise Knowledge Exchange, Bristol
2007 – Scottish Tropical Biology Meeting, Edinburgh
2006 – Scottish Fish Symposium, Millport

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Teaching

2nd Year: Marine Biology; Coral Reef Field Course; Practical Skills in Field Ecology; Academic tutorials

3rd Year: Current Issues in Marine Biology; Academic tutorials

3rd Year Dissertations: Global Fisheries and Climate Change; Anthropogenic Noise and Marine Ecosystems; Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification

MRes: Masters By Research, MSc Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture, MSc Conservation and Biodiversity, MSc Global Sustainability Solutions (Blue Planet module), MSci Biosciences (Creating a Better Anthropocene for Marine Life module)

Postgraduate Supervision:

• Lead supervisor for 8 PhD studentships (Exeter, Cefas, AIMS and Edinburgh, incl. 4 CASE)
• Co-supervisor for 13 PhD studentships (5 x Exeter, 4 x Bristol, JCU, York, Essex, Liège, Nijmegen and Adelaide)
• Supervised/co-supervised 25 Masters and 41 Honours students around the world

I have a diverse range of previous teaching experience:

• Postgraduate training modules in Knowledge Exchange, Science & the Media, Public Engagement in Science, Universities of Exeter & Bristol
• Marine Biology lectures for Certificate in Wildlife Biology, University of Bristol
• Field Zoology - 2rd Year module, University of Edinburgh
• Behavioural Ecology - 3rd Year module, University of Edinburgh
• undergraduate lectures (Edinburgh & St Andrews), tutoring & demonstrating
• chalk boards on Belizean beaches (marine scientist, Raleigh International)
• eco-restaurants and community centres in the Caribbean (lecturer, Sea & Learn on Saba)
• primary school assemblies (coordinator, Biodiversity Weeks)
• secondary school classrooms (Researcher in Residence, York and Cornwall)
• on stage at the Bristol M-Shed (TEDx), the Edinburgh Filmhouse and Bristol Tobacco Factory (Cafe Scientifique) & Edinburgh Traverse Theatre (Underground Talent)
• Dive instructor (27 trained divers)

Modules

2023/24

Information not currently available

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Supervision / Group

Postdoctoral researchers

Postgraduate researchers

Alumni

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Office Hours:

Academia provides amazing freedom to choose unconventional hours, work anywhere in the world, and communicate with collaborators across the globe. So if I am not in my office, please feel free to send me an email (S.Simpson@exeter.ac.uk) to arrange a meeting or Skype (sdsimpson).

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