I completed a BSc in Marine Biology from the Queen's University of Belfast in 2006. I then spent a season working as an intern Research Assistant for the Sea Watch Foundation, on their Cardigan Bay bottlenose dolphin monitoring project. I did an MRes in Marine Biology at Plymouth University and the Marine Biological Association in 2007-2008 and returned to work for the Sea Watch Foundation for several years in 2009. Since then I have continued to work on various cetacean projects including in New Zealand, the Faroe Islands and Egyptian Red Sea. I started at Bangor University as a Research Officer in 2014 on the SEACAMS2 project, working towards filling research gaps relating to cetacean interactions with proposed tidal energy developments in Wales. We work together with the marine energy sector to find solutions to answering applied research questions in these challenging high current areas. I'm also working on a PhD, 'an applied approach to studying collision risk of cetaceans with tidal turbines', supervised by Dr Line Cordes, Prof Lewis LeVay and Dr Gordon Hastie (Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), University of St Andrews).

My research focusses on applying cetacean ecology and behavioural studies to anthropogenic impacts. In recent years, I have specifically studied small cetacean density, distribution and behaviour at sites proposed for tidal energy development in Wales. We seek to understand animal usage in high current areas and develop innovative tools to study dolphin and porpoise response to operating turbines, to inform collision risk. 

2018

• PublishedRegional-scale patterns in harbour porpoise occupancy of tidal stream environments
  Waggitt, J., Dunn, H., Evans, P. G. H., Hiddink, J., Holmes, L. J., Keen, E., Murcott, B. D., Piano, M., Robins, P., Scott, B. E., Bond, J. & Veneruso, G., 1 Mar 2018, In: ICES Journal of Marine Science. p. 701-710
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2016

• PublishedResearch priorities for assessing potential impacts of emerging marine renewable energy technologies: Insights from developments in Wales (UK)
  Roche, R., Walker-Springett, K., Robins, P., Jones, J., Veneruso, G., Whitton, T., Piano, M., Ward, S., Duce, C., Waggitt, J., Walker-Springett, G., Neill, S., Lewis, M. & King, J., 1 Dec 2016, In: Renewable Energy. 99, December, p. 1327-1341 15 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2021

• COP Cymru Regional Roadshow 2021: Small Nation Big Ideas - Welsh science driving the energy transition

  Presentation and panel discussion as part of COP Cymru roadshow associated with COP26 held at M-SParc but broadcast more widely as a webinar.

  Session description:

  “Ambitious commitments to decarbonize economies for the sake of the planet, and all our futures, require rapid changes to our whole energy system. How energy is produced, stored, transported and used all need to change if there is to be any hope of meeting net zero.

  This session will showcase a range of new technologies being developed in Wales; from using nuclear reactors for more than just power, to reducing energy waste throughout our water system, or innovations in tidal energy to recovering rarer materials for use in batteries. It will also look at how researchers can work across different disciplines; for example engineers working with biologists to minimize the impact of renewable power on wildlife.”

  4 Nov 2021

  Links:

  • https://freshwater.eventscase.com/EN/COPCymru21/North_Wales
  • https://twitter.com/lceernw/status/1456237294709456896
  Activity: Types of Public engagement and outreach - Public lecture/debate/seminar (Speaker)