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Dr Samantha Garrard

Dr Samantha Garrard

Marine Ecosystem Services Researcher

sga3/29/2024 12:25:56 AM@pml.ac.uk    |     +44 (0)1752 633100 (switchboard)
"Being part of such a multidisciplinary team at PML means that my work, collaborating with internal and external partners, helps provide policy-relevant science that can be used to help manage and protect our oceans for future generations."

Dr Samantha Garrard is a senior research scientist in the Sea and Society group based at Plymouth Marine Laboratory. Her work focuses on producing policy-relevant science, understanding the impact of anthropogenic and climate change stressors on marine biodiversity and ecosystem services. She has worked on highly productive marine systems around the globe, with her current projects spanning South America, SE Asia, and the North Atlantic.

She is a regular contributor to science-policy engagement for example through participation in sessions of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, the UK Treaty Dialogues and the Multistakeholder Treaty Dialogues convened by the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network (OPLN).

Sam gained degrees in marine biology and aquatic resource management before completing a PhD based at the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (affiliated with the Open University) in Ischia, Italy, where she studied the effect of ocean acidification on plant-animal interactions in a Posidonia oceanica system, using CO2 vents as a natural laboratory. She has since worked as an ecologist and ecotoxicologist, before specialising as a marine ecosystem services researcher, bridging the gap between the environmental and social sciences.

Garrard, S.L., Clark, J.R., Martin, N., Nelms, S.E., Botterell, Z.L.R., Cole, M., Coppock, R.L., Galloway, T.S., Green, D.S., Jones, M., Lindeque, P.K., Tillin, H.M., Beaumont, N.J., 2024. Identifying potential high-risk zones for land-derived plastic litter to marine megafauna and key habitats within the North Atlantic. Science of The Total Environment 922, 171282.

Garrard, S.L. 2023. Microplastics discovered in the body tissues of whales, dolphins and seals- sparking concern for human health too. The Conversation. 23 August 2023.

Garrard, S.L. 2023. Check your tyres: you might be adding unnecessary microplastics to the environment. The Conversation, 19 May 2023.

Garrard, S.L., Spicer, J.I., Thompson, R.C., 2022. Tyre particle exposure affects the health of two key estuarine invertebrates. Environmental Pollution 314, 120244

Garrard SL and Beaumont NJ. 2014. The effect of ocean acidification on carbon storage and sequestration in seagrass beds; a global and UK context. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 86(1-2): 138-146

Garrard SL, Gambi MC, Scipione MB, Patti FP, Lorenti M, Zupo V, Paterson DM and Buia MC. 2014. Indirect effects may buffer negative responses of seagrass invertebrate communities to ocean acidification. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 461; 31-38.

Garrard SL, Hunter RC, Frommel AY, Lane AC, Phillips JC, Cooper R, Dineshram R, Cardini U, McCoy SJ, M. A, Rodrigues Alves BG, Annane S, de Orte MR, Kumar A, Aguirre-Martínez GV, Maneja RH, Basallote MD, Ape F, Torstensson A, Bjoerk MM. 2012. Biological impacts of ocean acidification: a postgraduate perspective on research priorities. Marine Biology 160 (8): 1789-1805

Unsworth RKF, Garrard SL, Salinas de Leon P, Sloman KA, Smith DJ, Bell JJ. 2009. Structuring of Indo-Pacific fish assemblages along the seagrass-mangrove continuum. Aquatic Biology 5: 85-95

Unsworth RKF, Salinas De Leon P, Garrard SL, Jompa J, Smith DJ, Bell JJ. 2008. High connectivity of Indo-Pacific seagrass fish assemblages with mangrove and coral reef habitats. Marine Ecology Progress Series 353: 213–244