Overview

Dr Jessopp is a lecturer in the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences (BEES) at UCC, and leads the Marine Ecology Group within the MaREI Coastal & Marine Systems research area. Mark’s research focusses on the foraging ecology of higher predators (seabirds and marine mammals) and interactions with human activities at sea including marine renewables, fisheries and offshore oil & gas.

Current Activities

Research on the diet and distribution of seabirds and marine mammals through numerous nationally (e.g. IRC, DAFM, DCCAE), internationally (e.g. H2020, INTERREG), and industry (e.g. BIM) funded projects.  Mark specialises in the application of biotelemetry to investigate behavioural responses of seabirds and seals to human activities including marine renewables, fisheries and oil & gas. Mark is PI on projects including aerial and ship surveys for marine mammals and seabirds in offshore waters, remote monitoring of seabirds in the high arctic, tracking of seabirds and seals, and assessing environmental impacts of marine renewables. Mark also supervises a number of postdoctoral researchers and PhD students working on a range of marine ecology projects.

Background

Mark completed his BSc. (hons) in Zoology from the University of Melbourne, Australia in 1995. Following this, he worked for the British Antarctic Survey, conducting research on Antarctic fur seals, penguins, and albatrosses before obtaining his PhD in 2007 at University College Cork on the design and monitoring of marine reserves. Mark worked as a postdoctoral researcher within MaREI for a number of years before taking up a lectureship in Zoology in the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, UCC and continues to work within the Coastal & Marine Systems group at MaREI