Professional activities

Conference conceiver, developer, and co-convener:

• The Environment after Brexit, British Ecological Society, UK (2017)
• Challenger Society for Marine Science Conference (2012, 2014)
• Prospectus for UK Marine Sustained Observations, The Royal Society, UK (2013)

Theme developer and convener:

• “Applying and integrating marine biodiversity indicators and assessments to evaluate progress towards policy goals”, MSEAS-2020: Marine Social-Ecological Systems, Yokohama, Japan (delayed from 2020)
• “From science to evidence – innovative uses of biodiversity indicators for effective marine policy and conservation”, International Marine Conservation Congress, Kuching, Malaysia (2018)
• “What is a good pelagic habitat?”, ICES Annual Science Conference, Riga, Latvia (2016)
• “Marine science for society”, Challenger Conference for Marine Science, Liverpool, UK (2016)
• “Challenges and tools for managing marine and coastal resources”, Challenger Conference for Marine Science, Plymouth, UK. (2014)
• “Challenges and tools for managing marine and coastal resources”, Challenger Conference for Marine Science: Ocean Challenges in the 21st Century, Norwich, UK (2012)

Session chair:

• Promoting Effective Governance of the Channel Ecosystem, Caen, France. (2014)
• Southwest Marine Ecosystems Conference 2014, Plymouth, UK (2014)
• P/ICES Oceans of Change, Majorca, Spain (2012)

Editorial contributions:     

• Marine Biodiversity Records Editorial board (2017 – present)
• Special Issue, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Guest editor. Prospectus for UK Marine Sustained Observations (2014)

Panels and debates: 

• “Public debate: Large-scale trends in ocean phytoplankton”. McQuatters-Gollop, A., Worm, B. and Wernand, M. Plankton 2011: Biodiversity and Global Change, Plymouth, UK. (2011)
• “Discussion panel: Where we need to be: what are the likely challenges?” McQuatters-Gollop, A., Spicer, J., Brownlee, C. and Barange, M. Plymouth Marine Science Partnership and the MMO: How can we manage our seas in the real world?” Plymouth, UK. (2011)

Media engagements:

2020    

• “The Hunger Games for life in our warmer sea”, Western Morning News, 28 Jan 2020
• “Towards equality in ecology”, Ecology for the Masses, 10 Feb 2020 https://ecologyforthemasses.com/2020/02/10/towards-equality-in-ecology-bes-edition/
• “Study shows six decades of change in plankton communities”, Science Magazine (web), 1 April 2020
• “Study reveals climate impact on plankton”, The National (Scotland), 2 April 2020
• “Plankton changes have impacted ecosystem around UK coastline, study suggests”, Press Association, 2 April 2020
• “Plankton hit by ‘huge changes’”, The Herald, 2 April 2020
• “Shift in ocean life discovered”, The Herald (Plymouth), 4 April 2020
• “We’re plankrupt”, The Sun, 6 April 2020
• “Huge changes to UK plankton population”, Fishing News UK, 7 May 2020
• “Channelling a Bloom”, NASA Earth Observatory, 25 June 2020 https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/146897/channeling-a-bloom
• “Pictures from space bode well for life on Earth”, Western Morning News, 1 July 2020
• “NASA records large bloom of phytoplankton close to island”, Guernsey Press, 2 July 2020
• “Blooming good spring for algae”, The Times, 8 July 2020
• “Weather eye”, The Times, 8 July 2020

2019      

• ”Small boats may be left high and dry after Brexit” , Western Morning News, 22 Jan 2019
• “Science research programme launched to inform Defra policy making”, WiredGov, 6 May 2019
• “Defra takes ‘systems thinking approach’ to pressing environmental issues”, The Water Report, 6 May 2019
• “Defra launches science research programme to inform policy-making”, AgriLand, 7 May 2019
• Invited collaborator for Phillippe Cousteau’s Earth Echo expedition ‘What’s the Catch?’ as a plankton and policy expert, August 2019
  • Earth Echo Establish Our Fisheries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=14&v=7A43-tM0ezE&feature=emb_logo
  • Earth Echo STEM Career Close up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=UlQk7b9hxZY&feature=emb_logo
• “Focus on Brexit: Resigned but resolute”, Ecology for the Masses, 11 Dec 2019 https://ecologyforthemasses.com/2019/12/11/focus-on-brexit-at-bes2019-resigned-but-resolute/
• “Abigail McQuatters-Gollop: How will Brexit effect Europe’s oceans?”, Ecology for the Masses, 9 Dec 2019 https://ecologyforthemasses.com/2019/12/09/abigail-mcquatters-gollop-how-will-brexit-affect-europes-oceans/

2018     

• “International collaboration is essential for good of our seas”, Western Morning News, 12 Sept 2018

2014 – present

• Curator of blog and website Plankton and Policy: https://planktonpolicy.org/

2012     

• Invited guest blogger (Plankton and Policy) for Research in Action. University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.
• Research featured in New Scientist magazine
• Featured on ‘This is what a scientist looks like’ blog about breaking down science stereotypes

2011      

• Interview by Louie Psihoyos, director, for his documentary film Racing Extinction.

Skills:

Science-Policy communication: Active participant in science-policy knowledge exchange at the UK, European, and international scales. I excel at translating science into a format useful to policy-makers and at guiding scientists to apply their research to the policy process. I run the blog and website Plankton and Policy https://planktonpolicy.org/

Proposal coordination/contribution: FP7 proposal coordination, contribution to NERC, NSF, etc, proposals.

Spatial analysis: Exceptional cartographic, GIS and geostatistical analysis skills using ArcGIS, ArcView, ArcInfo, R, and Surfer.

Taxonomy: Trained in CPR plankton analysis.