Dr Laurence De Clippele is a marine ecologist who focusses on studying cold-water coral reefs with a general interest in marine biodiversity, biogeography, ecosystem functioning, trophic ecology and pollution. Currently, she works as part of the European Horizon 2020 ATLAS project, a trans-Atlantic research project that strives to improve our understanding of complex deep-sea ecosystems and their associated species in the North Atlantic Ocean. Her main fields of research are:
1) marine habitat and predictive mapping: mapping the distribution and ecosystem function of cold-water corals reefs and their associated fauna by integrating data from high definition videos from underwater vehicles (ROV), acoustic surveys (bathymetry and backscatter), the ocean currents and on respiration rates.
2) Cold-water coral mound morphology: the BGS-seabed mapping toolbox is applied on bathymetry data and used to characterise the geomorphology of coral mounds across the Atlantic.
3) Ecology of cold-water coral reef fauna: biodiversity and behavioural patterns of reef fauna based on in-situ HD videos and imagery
2018 – 2020: Postdoctoral Research Associate. ATLAS project, University of Edinburgh, UK
2017-2018: Project assistant and team leader at Edinburgh International Science Festival, UK
2013-2017: PhD on the small-scale spatial scales of cold-water coral reefs in the northeast Atlantic, Heriot-Watt University, UK
2012-2013: Researcher at the Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway
2010-2012: Master in the Marine and Lacustrine Sciences and Management, University of Ghent, Antwerp and Brussels, Belgium
2007-2010: Bachelor in Biology, University of Ghent, Belgium
ATLAS- A transatlantic assessment and deep-water ecosystem-based spatial management plan for Europe
https://www.eu-atlas.org/
De Clippele LH, Huvenne VAI, Orejas C, Lundälv T, Fox A, Hennige S, Roberts JM (2017) The effects of the local hydrodynamics on the spatial extent and morphology of cold-water coral habitats at the Tisler reef, submitted to Coral reefs
De Clippele LH, Gafeira J, Robert K, Hennige S, Lavaleye MS, Duineveld GCA, Huvenne VAI and Roberts JM (2016) Using novel acoustic and visual mapping tools to predict the small-scale spatial distribution of live biogenic reef framework in cold-water coral habitats. Coral reefs 1: 255-268
Henry L-A, Stehmann M, De Clippele LH, Roberts JM (2016) Seamount egg-laying grounds of the deep-water skate Bathyraja richardsoni: Deep-water Bathyraja richardsoni egg-laying grounds. Journal of Fish Biology 89(2)
Vansteenbrugge L, Hostens K, Vanhove B, De Backer A, De Clippele L, De Troch M (2016) Erratum to trophic ecology of Mnemiopsis in the southern North Sea a biomarker application. Marine Biology 163:184
De Clippele LH, Buhl-Mortensen P and Buhl-Mortensen L (2015) Fauna associated with gorgonians and sea pens. Continental Shelf Research 105: 67-78
