Isabella Jackson

About Ella

I grew up sandwiched between the scenic Lake District National Park and the beautiful Solway Coast, therefore developed a deep love for the natural world from a young age. Early on I decided I wanted to pursue a career in biological research, and at 16 realised that marine biology was the area I was most fascinated in. I graduated from the University of Liverpool with an integrated master’s in marine biology in July 2022. During this time I wrote theses’ on how climate change influenced the prey choice on intertidal predators, with a focus on invasive alien species; and the role of melatonin on cnidarian behaviour.

I love being in the field, which I learned through various field trips across the UK during my degree. This covered a variety of habitats including rocky shores, mudflats, saltmarshes, estuarine and pelagic environments. This ignited my hopes of embarking on a career in field research or conservation.

In the summer following my bachelors, I completed a 3-month internship investigating the services provided by saltmarshes, comparing the differences between a natural saltmarsh, a newly restored saltmarsh, and a saltmarsh restored longer ago. This was a fantastic opportunity which involved sample collection in the field, followed by analysis in the laboratory. This resulted in myself being included as the co-author on my first paper.

It is my ambition to research behaviour in either elasmobranchs or cephalopods, as I believe both taxa have a level of intelligence us humans cannot yet comprehend, and I would like to explore this further. I believe this to be an important area to study, considering the anthropogenic pressures being exerted on marine life and how this will affect animal behaviour. However, before this I would like to devote some time to working in conservation, as it is more important than ever to protect the environment from the rapidly increasing consequences of climate change.

This internship will provide me with practical skills such as ORI tagging, photography, fishing, and BRUV deployment among many others, while also giving me the opportunity to learn about a wide variety of species, in particular megafauna such as elasmobranchs and cetaceans. Hopefully, this will offer me the tools to support me on my journey to a career in marine biology.
I love sharks and my favourite marine animal is the Greenland shark – I find them mysterious and fascinating!!