Madi Bowden-Parry

Using historical, social and ecological data to understand past marine ecosystems and fisheries.

Madi is a CDT SuMMeR PhD student working with the University of Exeter and ZSL's Institute of Zoology. As an interdisciplinary researcher, Madi is interested in using mixed-method approaches to generate a deeper understanding of change within, impact on, and use of marine ecosystems, for application in contemporary restoration and management.

Madi's PhD research uses approaches from the field of marine historical ecology to build long-term evidence on the dynamics of kelp habitats and small-scale fisheries along the coast of Sussex. Her research provides an important historical dimension to, and partnership with, the Sussex Kelp Recovery Project. 

Historically, based on two field surveys, kelp habitats were estimated to cover ~40km of coastline before experiencing a decline. 

These surveys provide at best, an estimate of historical kelp presence, and leave us with limited knowledge of the historical extent, and subsequent timings and drivers of its decline. Additionally, the influence that kelp, and its decline, has had on local communities also remains unknown.

Madi seeks to generate a deeper understanding of a) where kelp habitats were historically present and their dynamics through time, b) their potential drivers and timing of decline, c) the sociocultural significance and perceptions of historic kelp and seaweed to local Sussex communities and d) the historical movements and changes observed within small-scale fisheries over the longest timescale possible. 

Madi uses participatory, interview and archival methods in her research, and works closely with small-scale fishers.

Read more about the context to Madi's research in this article, In Kelp Gone By: How looking to the past can help the future of seaweed forests, written for Reflections.

More about Madi's work