Kimberley Marshall-Mills
Research student, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
- millsk3@cardiff.ac.uk
- Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT
Overview
I graduated from Cardiff University in 2019 with a Biological Sciences BSc (Zoology), being awarded the Edith Shepard Prize for Best Final Year Student in Zoology and the Professional Training Year Prize. Throughout my BSc, I undertook a number of research projects focusing on marine invertebrates. In particular, investigating the morphology and behaviour of marine bristleworms (Polychaeta) in collaboration with Amgueddfa Cymru — National Museum Wales (NMW). Following this, I worked on a research grant awarded by the Porcupine Natural History Society on the redescription of shovelhead worms (Magelona spp.) and then as a marine curatorial assistant at NMW, curating collections of molluscs and other marine invertebrates from Natural Resources Wales Welsh monitoring surveys.
I am currently a PhD researcher in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, working in collaboration with the Natural History Museum, London. My work focuses on the biomineralization and geochemistry of giant clam shells (Tridacna spp.) from Bornean coral reefs. I am particularly interested in generating bioarchives from shells to elucidate the capabilities of diverse coral reef environments to buffer reef building organisms from the impact of climate change.
Research
Research interests
- sclerochronology
- molluscs
- biomineralization
- marine biogeochemistry
- paleoenvironments
Teaching
- PGR demonstrating
- MSc tutoring
Thesis
Coupling shell growth and geochemistry in giant clams to explore biomineralization pathways
This PhD looks to use an interdisciplinary approach to explore the fundamental controls of giant clam (Tridacna spp.) shell growth and biomineralization by examining several shell specimens from diverse reef environments in Sabah. Reefs from Sabah are part of the Coral Triangle, the region with the highest marine biodiversity on Earth. Under the current global change scenario, it has been hypothesized that turbid reefs maybe more resilient to bleaching events, therefore they may act as refugia habitats that could potentially support the conservation of clear-water reefs in the long term. Besides coral biodiversity studies, it is fundamental to incorporate other key reefal taxa, such as giant clams, to better understand environmental responses of biota to temperature and light controls. This approach will use advancing imaging and mineralogical techniques such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM), and Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) to examine shell growth, microstructure and mineralization pathways of giant clams from turbid and clear water environments in Borneo. Alongside this, isotope ratio mass spectrometry and Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analysis on recently living Tridacna shells will generate geochemical proxy records (d18O, Sr/Ca, , Ba/Ca) to reconstruct environmental changes in both turbid and clear-water environments. These reconstructions will aid in deciphering how environmental stressors impact marine sessile organism and their ability to calcify. In addition to exploring the modern shell collection, fossil collections will also be utilized to determine if similar biomineralization features persisted under different environmental conditions.
Funding source
NERC GW4+
Supervisors
Publications
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