Summary
Rodney is a marine scientist with interests in intertidal ecology, ocean colour, underwater optics and primary production. He currently works with European partners on building a datacube system to make better use of satellite data for the coastal zone, with Orsted on forecasting wave conditions, with the BTO on tracking wading birds, and with RWE on environmental impacts of windfarms. He teaches marine biology and oceanography, supervises 3 Ph.D students and sets the scientific direction for Hull Marine Laboratory. Rodney is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Biology and was chair of the ICES Working Group on Operational Oceanography for Fisheries and Ecosystems from 2015 to 2019. He is a current member of the Defra Ocean Processes Evidence Group. He reviews for grant-awarding bodies such as NERC, NSF and BELSPO as well as many journals (https://publons.com/researcher/1450626/rodney-forster).
2015-2021Reader in Marine and Coastal Ecology, University of Hull
2006-2014Senior Scientist, Cefas, Lowestoft, UK
1999-2005PDRA, Netherlands Inst of Ecology, Yerseke, The Netherlands
1993-1998PDRA, Biologische Anstalt Helgoland and University of Rostock, Germany
I teach primarily on the B Sc. Marine Biology degree programme, and contribute to other undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
I am module lead of Geographical Information Systems (500689) at Level 5, and contribute to Green Planet (500709), Marine Biology and Oceanography (500695), Marine Challenges ( 601143), Geotechnologies A: Advanced GIS ( 600264), Practical Biology (400476), and Field Studies (601124). I supervise Independent Research Projects and Structured Research Projects.
Journal Article
Individual, sexual and temporal variation in the winter home range sizes of GPS-tagged Eurasian Curlews Numenius arquata
Mander, L., Nicholson, I., Green, R. M., Dodd, S. G., Forster, R. M., & Burton, N. H. (2022). Individual, sexual and temporal variation in the winter home range sizes of GPS-tagged Eurasian Curlews Numenius arquata. Bird Study, 69(1-2), 39-52. https://doi.org/10.1080/00063657.2022.2144129
Long-Term Changes in the Abundance of Benthic Foraging Birds in a Restored Wetland
Mander, L., Scapin, L., Thaxter, C. B., Forster, R. M., & Burton, N. H. (2021). Long-Term Changes in the Abundance of Benthic Foraging Birds in a Restored Wetland. Frontiers in ecology and evolution, 9, Article 673148. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.673148
Satellite data for the offshore renewable energy sector: Synergies and innovation opportunities
Medina-Lopez, E., McMillan, D., Lazic, J., Hart, E., Zen, S., Angeloudis, A., …Zampollo, A. (2021). Satellite data for the offshore renewable energy sector: Synergies and innovation opportunities. Remote Sensing of Environment, 264, Article 112588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2021.112588
Remote Sensing for Aquaculture
Gernez, P., Palmer, S. C., Thomas, Y., & Forster, R. (2021). Remote Sensing for Aquaculture. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, Article 638156. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.638156
Research interests
primary production, algae, optics, coastal systems, human impacts, offshore wind farms.
Lead investigator
Project
Funder
Grant
Started
Status
Project
REWRITE
Funder
UKRI UK Research and Innovation
Grant
£333,267.00
Started
1 October 2023
Status
Ongoing
Project
eSWEETS: Enabling Sustainable Wind Energy Expansion in Seasonal Seas
Funder
NERC Natural Environment Research Council
Grant
£163,853.00
Started
1 May 2024
Status
Ongoing
Project
NE-IFCA bait-digging MSc.
Funder
North Eastern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority
Grant
£18,724.00
Started
1 January 2017
Status
Complete
Project
DataCube Service for Copernicus
Funder
EC European Commission
Grant
£200,325.00
Started
1 January 2018
Status
Complete
Project
NIRAS - Phase 1 seabirds and their environment
Funder
NIRAS Consulting Ltd
Grant
£21,749.00
Started
1 May 2017
Status
Complete
Project
The effect of monopile-induced turbulence on local suspended sediment patterns around UK wind farms
Funder
The Crown Estate
Grant
£131,712.00
Started
1 March 2016
Status
Complete
Project
FP7 - HIGHROC (Hull added as new partner and budget transferred from Cefas)
Funder
EC European Commission
Grant
£35,260.00
Started
1 September 2015
Status
Complete
Project
Evidence collection for the Humber Estuary Native Oyster and Seagrass Restoration project
Funder
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
Grant
£7,370.00
Started
1 May 2021
Status
Complete
Project
Primary productivity off the Yorkshire coast with reference to fisheries productivity and recent implications on the wider environment
Funder
The Fishmongers Company
Grant
£4,750.00
Started
1 April 2022
Status
Complete
Co-investigator
Project
Funder
Grant
Started
Status
Project
Towards enabling sustainable expansion of offshore wind while protecting marine benthic biodiversity and functioning (BEcoWIND)
Funder
NERC Natural Environment Research Council
Grant
£612,236.00
Started
1 April 2023
Status
Ongoing
Project
Defining Favourable Conservation Status for seagrass beds
Funder
Natural England
Grant
£8,250.00
Started
1 February 2019
Status
Complete
Project
Suffolk Marine Pioneer Values and Priorities Workshop Delivery
Funder
Suffolk County Council
Grant
£12,070.00
Started
1 March 2019
Status
Complete
Project
Valuing Nature Programme Placement Scheme
Funder
NERC Natural Environment Research Council
Grant
£9,480.00
Started
13 November 2017
Status
Complete
Project
CERES: Climate change and European aquatic RESources
Funder
EC European Commission
Grant
£58,108.00
Started
1 March 2016
Status
Complete
Project
Implications of climate change for the Scottish Marine Protected Area Network
Funder
NatureScot
Grant
£51,625.00
Started
18 July 2016
Status
Complete
Project
Investigation of habitat suitability for estuarine wading birds using high-resolution tracking
Funder
British Trust for Ornithology
Grant
£3,000.00
Started
1 November 2017
Status
Complete
Project
UK Seafood Fund – Science & Innovation Pillar - Fisheries Industry Science Partnerships (FISP) Research Proposal Development - Investigation into the potential of an east-coast stone crab fishery
Funder
DEFRA
Grant
£19,848.00
Started
1 July 2022
Status
Complete
Project
Evidence review on the sensitivity of seagrass to nutrients
Funder
Natural England
Grant
£18,450.00
Started
21 November 2022
Status
Complete
Project
Implementing Measures For Sustainable Estuaries
Funder
EC European Commission
Grant
£121,319.00
Started
1 October 2018
Status
Complete
Project
LoSSGO: Local Sea-State for Stop-Go offshore Operations
Funder
Green Port Hull
Grant
£191,082.00
Started
1 May 2018
Status
Complete
Project
Tyne Estuary and MetroGreen Edges Softening
Funder
Groundwork South Tyneside and Newcastle
Grant
£61,523.00
Started
1 August 2018
Status
Complete
Postgraduate supervision
My current PhD students are:
Lucas Mander 2018-2021
Tobenna Uzuegbunam 2018-2021
Rick McCumskay 2020-2023
PhD thesis completed are: