Leonie Robinson
Lecturer in Marine Ecology
Expertise:
I have a background in community ecology of marine ecosystems with particular reference to understanding the drivers, both natural and anthropogenic, of variability in temporal and spatial dynamics. I am also interested in the application of ecological theory in underpinning management of marine resources. My interests in risk and uncertainty relate to the methodologies and applications I have been working on more recently that use risk-based approaches in understanding the likely outcomes for policy and management related to environmental objectives. I am also interested in assessing the vulnerability of different components of ecosystems to human activities where vulnerability is assessed based on likelihood and consequence of an impact occurring due to a driver being assessed (thus in terms of risk). Uncertainty in the information used to inform predictions about natural systems and the environmental policies that relate to them is also a major issue that we are working on within my group.
List of current projects involving risk and uncertainty
- Options for Delivering Ecosystem Based Marine Management (ODEMM) (in particular WP5 Risks faced in implementation of policy related to environmental objectives), funded by the European Commission under FP7 (www.liv.ac.uk/odemm)
- A methodology for assessing the sensitivity of marine habitats to the combined effects of fishing, funded by the Countryside Council for Wales
List of publications
- Robinson LA and Frid CLJ (2003) 'Dynamic ecosystem models and the evaluation of ecosystem effects of fishing: can we make meaningful predictions? Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 13, 5-20
- Robinson LA and Frid, CLJ (2005) 'Extrapolating extinctions and extirpations: searching for the pristine state of the benthos'. American Fisheries Society Symposium, 41, 619-628
- Robinson LA and Frid CLJ (2008) Historical marine ecology: examining the role of fisheries in changes to North Sea benthos. Ambio, 37, 362-371
- Robinson, LA, Greenstreet, SPR, Reiss, H, Callaway, R,,Craeymeersch, J, De Boois, I, Degraer, S, Ehrich, S, Fraser, HM, Goffin, A, Kroncke, I, Lindal Jorgenson, L, Robertson, MR, Lancaster, J (2010) Length-weight relationships of 216 North Sea benthic invertebrates and fish. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK, 90 (1), 95-104
- Frid CLJ, Garwood PR & Robinson LA (2009) Observing change in a North Sea benthic system:A 33 year time series. Journal of Marine Systems, 77, 227-236
- Frid, CLJ, Garwood, PR & Robinson, LA (2009) The North Sea benthic system: A 36 year time-series. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK, 89 (1), 1-10
- Frid CLJ, Robinson LA and Bremner, J (2005) 'Muddy thinking: ecosystem based management of marine benthos'. American Fisheries Society Symposium, 41, 651-665
- Hussain S S, Winrow-Giffin A, Moran D, Robinson L A, Fofana A, Paramor O A L and Frid C L J (2010) An ex ante ecological economic assessment of the benefits arising from marine protected areas designation in the UK. Ecological Economics, 69 (4), 828-838
- Piet GJ, Quirijns FJ, Robinson LA and Greenstreet SPR (2007) Potential pressure indicators for fishing, and their data requirements. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64, 110-121
- Reiss, H, Greenstreet, SPR, Robinson, LA, Ehrich, S, Jorgenson, LL, Piet, GJ, Wolff, WJ (2010) Unsuitability of TAC management within an ecosystems approach to fisheries: An ecological perspective. Journal of Sea Research, 63, 85-92
- Reiss, H, Greenstreet, SPR, Sieben, K, Ehrich, S, Piet, GJ, Quirijns, F, Robinson, LA, Wolff, WJ, Kroncke, I (2009) Effects of fishing disturbance on benthic communities and secondary production within an intensively fished area. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 394, 201-213
- Spencer, M., Birchenough, S.N.R., Mieszkowska, N., Robinson, L.A., Simpson, S.D.,Burrows, M.T., Capasso, E., Cleall-Harding, P., Crummy, J., Duck, C., Eloire, D., Frost, M., Hall, A.J., Hawkins, S.J., Johns, D.G., Sims, D.W., Smyth, T.J. and Frid, C.L.J. (2010) Temporal change in UK marine communities: trends or regime shifts? Marine Ecology: An Evolutionary Perspective, 32, 1-15