J. Murray Roberts
Head, Changing Oceans Research Group & Coordinator, European Horizon 2020 iAtlantic project
Prof. J. Murray Roberts is Professor of Applied Marine Biology & Ecology at the University of Edinburgh’s School of GeoSciences. In addition, he leads the Changing Oceans research group, chairs the Joint Working Group between St Abbs Marine Station and the university and coordinates the European Horizon 2020 iAtlantic project. He studies structural habitats in the deep ocean, notably those formed by cold-water corals, to enhance plans for their long-term management and conservation.
Roberts was Professor of Marine Biology and Director of the Centre for Marine Biodiversity & Biotechnology at Heriot-Watt University, where he coordinated the Lyell Centre’s development. He also worked at the Scottish Association for Marine Science, with a period at the Center for Marine Science, University North Carolina Wilmington.
His work on cold-water corals and deep-sea biology has taken him to sites off the UK, Norway, Ireland, the United States and Cape Verde. He is senior author of the ‘Cold-water Corals’, the first book on the biology and geology of these important deep-sea habitats. He contributed to the 2014 and 2019 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Reports and was a consultant to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.
SPEAKERS & MODERATORS
Antje Boetius
Director, Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Germany
Daniel Dunn
Director, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, University of Queensland, Australia
Karen Evans
Principal Research Scientist, Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Tasmania
Diego Sancho Gallegos
Surf Conservation Data Coordinator, Save The Waves Coalition (STW), Costa Rica
Kristina M. Gjerde
Senior High Seas Advisor, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Global Marine and Polar Programme, USA
Anna-Katharina Hornidge
Director, The German Development Institute (DIE)/Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), Germany
Simone Pennafirme
Manager, Marine Life Center, Secretariat for Environment of the City Hall of Rio de Janeiro
J. Murray Roberts
Professor, University of Edinburgh’s School of GeoSciences & Head, Changing Oceans Research Group & Coordinator, European Horizon 2020 iAtlantic Project, Scotland
Vladimir Ryabinin
Executive Secretary, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, France
Jens Schiffers
Scientific Officer, German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany
Jörn Schmidt
Chair, Science Committee, International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), Denmark
Mirja Schoderer
Reseacher, The German Development Institute/Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), Germany
Sebastian Unger
Head, Ocean Governance Research Group, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), Potsdam, Germany
