Dr Stefan Bolam

SENIOR MARINE ECOLOGIST

Marine Benthic Ecologist with over 30 years’ experience specialising on the factors structuring marine benthic invertebrate populations and communities.  Understanding how such communities respond to natural and human-induced disturbances (e.g., dredged material disposal, demersal trawling) has been a particular focus.  This has included all aspects from designing and conducting field programmes, sample processing, data analyses, reporting and publishing in peer-reviewed journals.  More recently, the factors affecting marine benthic secondary production has been a focus, and the use of biological traits analysis to understand the potential functional role of benthic species and communities.  An eminent role in a number of collaborative, international projects including assessing trawling impacts (EU-funded BENTHIS) and intertidal experiment-based research aimed at understanding the effect of organic carbon in macrofaunal recolonisation of benthic species from the Norwegian mine tailings disposal. Currently principal investigator for POSEIDON which aims to facilitate and expedite the consenting of offshore renewables projects. Stefan also provides non-statutory benthic advice to the Marine Management Organisation on construction and renewables projects. A former member of PIANC WG13 and is represented in ICES under WGFBIT and WGMBRED.

Research publications: Google scholar