Summary
Sue Hull is an intertidal marine ecologist trying to understand the dynamics of the communities inhabiting rocky coasts, especially those on man-made structures and how we can use ecological engineering to enhance biodiversity. Recently her work on ecological enhancement of sea defences alongside Alice Hall at Bournemouth University won the CIRIA Award for Innovation in 2019. She is also interested in how climate change may impact such systems and how we can try to mitigate against some of the effects by creating new habitat. Sue led the University of Hull hub for the national 'Capturing the Coast' team training citizen science volunteers to survey rocky shores alongside marine biologists to answer key science questions. This successful project has led to a better understanding of our marine environment and engaged people from all walks of life in surveying and understanding our coastal areas.
In addition to a life-long fascination with rocky shores, Sue is an avid bird watcher who works with industry and local wildlife groups to understand habitat use by wading birds. She is part of a research cluster looking at the ecology of birds in the Humber estuary and is particularly interested in how the birds use man-made areas and understanding their activities both diurnally and nocturnally.
Book Chapter
Managing Ecological, Community and Bathing Water Quality Aspects in Design and Construction: Runswick Bay Coastal Protection Scheme, UK
Latham, D., Siddle, R., Donoghue, M., Halwyn, A., Hall, A., Hull, S., & Hardiman, N. (2020). Managing Ecological, Community and Bathing Water Quality Aspects in Design and Construction: Runswick Bay Coastal Protection Scheme, UK. In N. Hardiman (Ed.), Coastal management 2019: joining forces to shape our future coasts (447-458). London: ICE Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1680/cm.65147.447
Conference Proceeding
Biodiversity benefits of coal mine water remediation schemes for bird life
Jaques, R. O., Moorhouse-Parry, A. M. L., Carline, R., Mayes, W. M., & Hull, S. L. (2021). Biodiversity benefits of coal mine water remediation schemes for bird life. In Proceedings of the IMWA Congress “Mine Water Management for Future Generations”. Editors: Peter Stanley, Christian Wolkersdorfer, Karoline Wolkersdorfer
Journal Article
Lipophrys pholis is larger, grows faster and is in better condition in protected than in unprotected rocky shores
Compaire, J. C., Visintini, N., Soriguer, M. C., Johnson, M. L., Hull, S. L., & Barrett, C. J. (2024). Lipophrys pholis is larger, grows faster and is in better condition in protected than in unprotected rocky shores. Aquatic conservation : marine and freshwater ecosystems, 34(2), Article e4083. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.4083
Patterns of abundance across geographical ranges as a predictor for responses to climate change: Evidence from UK rocky shores
Vye, S. R., Dickens, S., Adams, L., Bohn, K., Chenery, J., Dobson, N., …Burrows, M. T. (2020). Patterns of abundance across geographical ranges as a predictor for responses to climate change: Evidence from UK rocky shores. Diversity and Distributions, 26(10), 1357-1365. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13118
Research interests
Rocky shore ecology and ecological enhancement of coastal defences.
Bioengineers as habitats and the effect of habitat complexity on marine communities. Habitat use of waders and their conservation.
Lead investigator
Project
Funder
Grant
Started
Status
Project
Concrete coast feasibility survey
Funder
ERYC East Riding of Yorkshire Council
Grant
£5,132.00
Started
1 January 2022
Status
Ongoing
Project
Monitoring of Whitby ecological enhancement for Groundworks Trust
Funder
Groundwork South Tyneside and Newcastle
Grant
£9,000.00
Started
1 July 2022
Status
Ongoing
Project
Identifying functionally linked land for overwintering waders in the Humber region
Funder
Natural England
Grant
£180,668.00
Started
1 August 2023
Status
Ongoing
Project
Survey for Scarborough BC
Funder
Scarborough Borough Council
Grant
£2,607.00
Started
1 November 2016
Status
Complete
Project
CoCoast - New ‘Marine Evidence’ proposal, Big Sea Survey 2
Funder
Heritage Lottery Fund
Grant
£235,372.00
Started
23 June 2015
Status
Complete
Project
Coastal ecological enhancement in the Humber
Funder
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
Grant
£4,811.00
Started
1 August 2020
Status
Complete
Project
Connected ecology; linking the Hull to the Humber through collaborative tracking
Funder
Yorkshire Water
Grant
£23,074.00
Started
1 June 2021
Status
Complete
Co-investigator
Project
Funder
Grant
Started
Status
Project
Sublittoral rock indicator: spatial correlation between environmental conditions and biological data
Funder
Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Grant
£53,965.00
Started
1 January 2017
Status
Complete
Project
Blue carbon restoration in Northern Ireland - a feasibility study
Funder
Ulster Wildlife Trust
Grant
£9,240.00
Started
1 December 2020
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
Yorkshire Coast Shark & Ray Programme ENG3021
Funder
Marine Management Organisation
Grant
£23,438.00
Started
1 June 2019
Status
Complete
Postgraduate supervision
Sue welcomes applications for postgraduate supervision, at PhD or MSc by research level, in
- intertidal ecology / biogenic habitats
- wader ecology and conservation
- freshwater invertebrates and environmental impacts
Completed PhDs
- Richardson, A. 2015, Patterns of mussel bad infaunal community structure and function at local, regional and biogeographical scales, University of Hull
- Lush, L. 2015, Functional ecology of brown hares, rabbits and livestock within agricultural landscapes, University of Hull
- Barrett, C.J. 2014, Coexistence of intertidal fish, University of Hull