Room: Room 325, Nautilus Suite, Westbury Mount              Phone: Teams

E-mail: L.Morris-Webb@bangor.ac.uk                     Twitter: @LizUnderwater

Web: Google Scholar; ResearchGate

I am an interdisciplinary marine scientist, with a grounding in marine ecology I now apply social science, human geography and environmental psychology approaches to the management and monitoring of the marine environment.

My academic training began at the University of Wales, Bangor in 1999, with a BSc (Hons.) in Marine Biology. Subsequently, I pursued interests in tropical marine ecology and research in the Philippines and Egypt leading back to Bangor for an MSc. in Marine Environmental Protection. In 2005 I established Marine Ecological Solutions (Marine EcoSol), a small marine consultancy specialising in UK scientific diving survey and logistics and subtidal epibenthic survey by scientific diving and underwater imagery.

After 16 years of working as an ecologist, consultant and scientific diver for government agencies, NGOs and private clients, I was increasingly asked to work with people. In 2016 I returned to academia as a PhD student under supervision of Professor Stuart Jenkins and Dr Freya St. John, with research interests in how the marine environment impacts people, and how people impact the marine environment. I am currently a post doctoral researcher for the Ecostructure project, specialising in marine invasive non-native species.

Research Areas

Marine Conservation and Resource Management

Marine Ecology

  • MSc: Marine Environmental Protection (Dist.)
    2003–2005
  • BSc: Marine Biology (Hons)
    1999–2002
  • PhD: Human dimensions of the marine environment: Understanding intertidal collection activities in Wales.
    2016

The human dimensions of the marine environment are being realised as important to the future sustainable management of our environments. I believe that the key to ensuring coastal communities and environments are resilient to climate change and the gobal economic and mental health crises is in understanding how and why people engage with their environments, and using this information to empower people and future policy decisions.

In 2021, my current specific research interests are in: 

* marine invasive non-native species

(as part of The Ecostructure Project – Climate Change Adaptation Through Ecologically Sensitive Coastal Infrastructure)

* the collection (hand gathering) of coastal resources

(including Vozes do mar Expandindo e conectando as vozes das pescadoras para enfrentar as mudanças climáticas- Instituto Ayni)

These fit within my broader research areas within the human dimensions of the marine environment: 

1. The One Health agenda - how human and non-human well-being are intrinsically linked and understanding how these human-nature connections can be used to inform education, management and sustainable policies.

2. Methods to improve pro-environmental behaviours.

3. Novel approaches to provide evidence to fill knowledge gaps for decision-makers, with particular interest in long-held marine management conundrums. 

Over my working career, I have developed many research interests primarily related to subtidal ecology (of the NE Atlantic), the establishment of robust survey and monitoring techniques for hard substrates. I have a particular interest in tackling the recording of signs of life on the seabed, including eggs, tracks, siphons and other cryptic signs of biodiversity. 

2024

2022

2019

2017

2015

2023

  • Warning to beach goers about the threat of tidal cut off

    Initial findings of a UK and Irish survey of public understanding of the tide, found that 38% of the British public were unaware that the tide typically comes in twice a day. A surprising 15% of the public have some experience of being cut off by the tide.

    Bangor University and RNLI press releases, aiming to warn people about tidal cut off around the extreme tides over Easter weekend were picked up by several TV and radio outlets.

    BBC Wales news (audio) MediaView (tveyes.com)

    S4C News (video) MediaView (tveyes.com)

    ITV News (video uploaded here)

    BBC Radio Cymru (interview with Prof Thora Tenbrink)

    5 Apr 2023

    Activity: Types of Public engagement and outreach - Media article or participation (Contributor)

2022

  • BU-IIA Funded Project: Cut Off By Tide

    Project abstract: Every year, hundreds of lifeboat and lifeguard operations occur to rescue coastal users who have become cut off by tide. Despite the RNLI’s best efforts there are still multiple fatalities.

    Ultimately, to reduce the number of emergencies a deeper understanding of the reasons why coastal users become exposed to this hazard is required. This project will address this by looking at people’s concepts and understanding of the tide. Our goal is to help the RNLI develop precautionary measures in a more targeted way, responding directly to coastal users’ conceptual needs.

    For instance, people will naturally generalise from previous experiences with the tide, not realising that tidal movements can differ radically between places and at different times. Furthermore, they will normally expect that the water will come in straight to the shore, not diagonally or in a curved or irregular fashion; they expect tide to come in quite slowly, and to be able to simply walk back on the sandbanks to the shore. However, the tide rarely just uniformly advances and retreats across a beach. Instead, it will initially flow laterally along channels and around sandbanks, cutting them off from the mainland and removing any safe route back to land.

    Funding awarded through the Bangor University Innovation and Impact Award (Research Wales Innovation Funding). Value = £11,514

    1 Apr 2022 – 31 Mar 2023

    Activity: Other (Contributor)

My PhD was a Marine EcoSol (www.marine-ecosol.com) collaboration with Bangor University, funded by KESS 2.  Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarships (KESS 2) is a pan-Wales higher level skills initiative led by Bangor University on behalf of the HE sector in Wales. It is part funded by the Welsh Government's European Social Fund (ESF) convergence programme for West Wales and the Valleys. 

https://www.bangor.ac.uk/doctoral-school/kess

The Bangor University Places of Climate Change Group

Secretary of a Bangor-wide collaborative Research Centre named ‘PloCC’ has emerged to jointly address sense-of-place notions in relation to climate change.

Places of Climate Change (PloCC) (bangor.ac.uk)

The Bangor University Wellbeing Research Group

Together with wellbeing researchers in other schools across the University, I founded and lead this group. We aim to bring together researchers of wellbeing across the University to share research ideas, experiences and collaborative opportunities. We meet monthly in an informal setting, with occasional guest speakers and seminars. Contact me if you are interested in coming along. 

School of Ocean Sciences general member of the Bangor University CoESE Ethics & Governance Committee