I'm Tom Williams, a research fellow at the School of Ocean and Earth Science at the University of Southampton, UK. I am a marine biologist by training and a striving quantitative ecologist. The central activity of my work involves conducting investigations on the responses of marine biodiversity to both natural and anthropogenic disturbances, and the ensuing implications for ecosystem functioning.
I have broad interests in marine benthic ecology, Arctic ecosystems, and data science, with a particular focus on how ecological systems respond to environmental change—both individual stressors and their cumulative effects. My research spans multiple scales, from individuals and species to entire communities. I specialise in mesocosm experiments, conducted in both laboratory and field settings, to examine how organisms respond to changing conditions and the subsequent consequences for ecosystem functioning. In parallel, I develop trait-based computational models to investigate the cascading impacts of biodiversity loss. By simulating extinction sequences based on species vulnerabilities and ecological interactions, I aim to understand how such changes propagate through ecosystems and affect their functional integrity.
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