People:
Nicola Foster


Nicola Foster

School of Biological and Marine Sciences







Research interests

I am a Lecturer in Marine Biology at the University of Plymouth in the UK and I study coral populations across a broad depth range, from shallow, tropical coral reefs (<30 m), to the relatively unexplored mesophotic coral ecosystems (30-200 m), and beyond to the cold-water corals of the deep sea (>200 m). I am particularly interested in variation in diversity and community structure along the depth gradient, and the horizontal and vertical connectivity of populations via larval dispersal, and the implications of this on conservation and management of the marine environment.

Publications

  Please note that only publications relevant to mesophotic reefs are indexed.

Light and temperature drive the distribution of mesophotic benthic communities in the Central Indian Ocean | article
Diaz C, Howell KL, Robinson E, Hosegood P, Bolton A, Ganderton P, Arber P, Attrill MJ, Foster NL (2023)
Diversity and Distributions

Mesophotic coral bleaching associated with changes in thermocline depth | article
Diaz C, Foster NL, Attrill MJ, Bolton A, Ganderton P, Howell KL, Robinson E, Hosegood P (2023)
Nature communications 14:6528

Shallow and mesophotic benthos reference image database for the Chagos Archipelago, Central Indian Ocean | report
Diaz C, Foster NL, Howell KL (2023)

Research keywords
Research platform experience
  SCUBA (open-circuit or unspecified)
  Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)
  Manned Submersible
  Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV)
  Sonar / Multibeam
  Drop / Towed Video
  Snorkeling
  Surface-deployed sensors and samplers
Photographs (of Nicola Foster)


Research summary (from publications)