THE STURROCK LAB

My lab investigates fish ecology, conservation and management, primarily by combining large environmental and fisheries datasets with the analysis of chemical markers in fish archival tissues (e.g. otoliths, eye lenses) to reconstruct migration patterns, health and diet. The results provide unique insights into fish behaviours and habitat needs in natural settings, allowing us to better predict how climate change and other stressors will shape their evolution, productivity and resilience.

I joined the University of Essex as a lecturer in 2020, and am also a UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellow (https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=MR%2FV023578%2F1; 2022-25), a co-leader of an international working group focused on marine connectivity (https://www.sea-unicorn.com/working-group-1; 2020-24), a co-convenor of the 2023 FSBI International Symposium Fish Habitat Ecology in a Changing Climate (https://fsbi.org.uk/symposium-2023/) and one of the University of Essex's Public Voice Scholars (2023-25). 

In my lab, we are currently leading and/or collaborating on projects exploring (1) the effect of different stressors (e.g. warming, habitat loss) and management actions on the migratory behaviour, growth and resilience of salmonids, (2) estimating the connectivity patterns and contribution rates of nursery grounds to the adult stock for sea bass, tuna and anchovies, (3) combining genetic and otolith tools to explore the relationship between genotype and phenotype, (4) exploring new tools to reconstruct hormone and contaminant histories in multiple fish species, (5) modeling the influence of environmental and anthropogenic drivers on fish growth and health, (6) analysing historical data on consumer demand and trade in seafood supply chains, (7) using stable isotope analysis to understand the trophic ecology and habitat use of multiple species, including teleosts and cephalopods (primarily the common cuttlefish).