Dr Silvana Birchenough
Senior Scientist - Marine Ecologist
Dr Silvana Birchenough is a marine ecologist and scientific advisor on issues related to benthic ecology and the effects of human activities on the marine environment. She has 18 years of experience in planning, conducting and managing ecological contracts. Her research portfolio focuses on studying long-term benthic changes resulting from climate change and the effects of ocean acidification on key commercial species and habitats. She led the Defra funded project ‘Placing ocean acidification into a wider fisheries context’ (PLACID). She led the “Foresight of the sea report on ocean acidification”. She also led WP3: understanding changes to sediments and functions resulting from ocean acidification (funded under and the NERC/Defra/DECC). Silvana is also the Caribbean Science Lead for the Commonwealth Marine Economies Programme (CME) and she currently leads the project “Vulnerability to fisheries and ocean acidification”. She chaired the ICES/PICES/AMAP ACIDUSE workshop to understand the effects of ocean acidification on commercial species and end-users (WKACIDUSE) in 2016. Silvana is also the elected chair of the ICES ‘Steering Group on Ecosystem Processes and Dynamics’ (SSGEPD), overseeing the work of 20 ICES EGs. She also chairs the Benthic Ecology Working Group (BEWG). She is also a Fellow of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust (WCMT) for work conducted with the Sediment Profile Imagery (SPI) for safeguarding marine environments. Recently, she was awarded an OECD fellowship entitled: “Optimising science, technology and innovation for studying ocean acidification effects on commercial species” under Theme II: Managing Risks In A Changing World to conduct original research in Chile.
Research publications: Google Scholar
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