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Biography

I'm Tom Williams, a research fellow at Åbo Akademi University in Turku, Finland, and a marine biologist by training with a growing focus on quantitative ecology. My research centres on understanding how marine biodiversity responds to environmental change and multiple stressors, and how these dynamics influence ecosystem functioning.

Tom Williams in Arctic research clothing

Research Interests

My research interests span marine benthic ecology, Arctic coastal systems, and data-driven ecology, with a central focus on how ecosystems respond to environmental change and multiple stressors. I am particularly interested in the links between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and how these relationships shift under climate-driven and anthropogenic pressures.

My work integrates experimental, field, and computational approaches. I conduct mesocosm and field experiments to investigate organismal and community-level responses to changing conditions, complemented by the analysis of empirical datasets from polar and temperate systems. In parallel, I develop and apply trait-based and statistical models to explore how biodiversity loss and species interactions influence ecosystem stability and function. Through this combined approach, I aim to better understand and predict the resilience of marine ecosystems in a rapidly changing world.

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Education

PhD in Marine Ecology
University of Southampton, UK
2023

MSci in Marine Biology
University of Southampton, UK
2019

Previous and Current Projects