Dr Kara Layton

Specialisms

• Ecology
• Evolution
• Marine Biology
• Marine Zoology
• Molecular Biology

Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Research Overview

My research uses integrative approaches to understand how and why there is so much diversity in our oceans, and how climate change will impact this diversity. I investigate patterns of biodiversity and the evolutionary processes driving this diversity using field work, museum collections, genomic tools, phylogenetic inference, population genetics, microscopy and ecological modelling. I am particularly interested in investigating i) the evolution of warning colouration and mimicry in nudibranchs, ii) the evolution of parasitism in marine gastropods and iii) climate-linked biodiversity loss in our oceans.

Research Funding and Grants

Internal Funding to Pump-Prime Interdisciplinary Research. An interdisciplinary approach to generate a paradigm shift in characterizing biodiversity. £7,780

MASTS Emerging From Lockdown Award. Integrating genomics and metabolomics to understand climate change response in marine species. £5,000

The Natural Environment Research Council- NERC QUADRAT PhD Studentship Grant (2021). Establishing marine biodiversity baselines for blue carbon habitats. £95,000

The Natural Environment Research Council- NERC SUPER PhD Studentship Grant (2020). Integrating genomics and modelling to predict climate change response and identify drivers of decline in the endangered freshwater pearl mussel. £76,996.50

European Marine Biological Resource Centre- ASSEMBLE+ Transnational Access Grant (2020). Illuminating nudibranch biodiversity in an Atlantic hotspot. £7,000