Emma Beaton
PhD Student
Emma studied for a BSc in Bioscience with Biomedical Sciences at The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, and graduated in 2013. Her dissertation focussed on the health benefits of Scottish edible seaweed. She obtained her MSc in Plant Diversity from the University of Reading, investigating the evolution of isoflavonoids in the Leguminosae for her project.
In 2015, Emma volunteered at the University of Aberdeen, working on their Falkland Islands seaweed biodiversity project. The project involved sequencing of the DNA barcode 5’ COI loci of algae samples collected from sites across East and West Falkland.
Emma’s PhD research will investigate shallow benthic and intertidal ecology of the Falkland Islands, and is a collaborative project between the University of Aberdeen and the South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute
(SAERI). In her project, Emma will build upon the work made by the Shallow Marine Survey Group to enhance the inventory of intertidal species and examine their communities spatially and temporally. During her PhD research, Emma will develop a methodology for surveying and monitoring intertidal habitats in the future and use DNA barcoding to further increase the algal species inventory for the Falkland Islands.