Jenny Mallon PhD
MARINE SCIENTIST
I am a marine scientist focused on tropical coastal marine ecosystems. Through the lens of biogeochemistry, I examine interactions between seawater chemistry and benthic communities, aiming to understand coastal carbon cycling and the influence of climate change on coral physiology and ecology. My research centers on Caribbean coral reefs and seagrasses where global stressors such as warming, acidification, and deoxygenation have significant impacts. My background in hands-on conservation includes coral spawning, assisted fertilization, and larval rearing for restoration efforts. Collaboration with local communities and citizen scientists is at the core of my work, and I am commited to support and promote equity, diversity, and inclusion in marine science.
Currently, I am a 2023 – 2024 US-UK Fulbright Research Scholar collaborating with Mote’s International Center for Coral Reef Research and Restoration to complete the fieldwork component of my project with the Coastal Carbon Laboratory, Georgia Southern University to develop a novel biogeochemical technique for assessing reef restoration outcomes – you can read more about it here.
To find out more about my latest research click on the links below!
Conservation focus
In 2014, I helped initiate Expedition Akumal, a small grass-roots community project funded and hosted by the Hotel Akumal Caribe. Volunteer divers from Akumal Dive Center installed our first in-water coral nurseries in 2015 and helped with transplanting and collecting data on propagated Acropora cervicornis. In 2017, I worked with the National University of Mexico in Puerto Morelos to initiate a novel coral spawning monitoring and collection program in Akumal. Thanks to a funding from Coral Conservation Society, we built an outdoor, beach-side coral lab in 2018 to support coral spawning research in Akumal. Learn more about the project in Akumal here and please consider donating to the project via Coral conservation society.
This work would not be possible without the support of various local and international stakeholders. If you wish to contribute, visit Akumal! You can use any leftover pesos to support our boat tab at Akumal Dive Center, or housing for volunteer scientists at Hotel Akumal Caribe.
To support my research please donate to the coral conservation society
All funds raised go directly to support reef restoration research
Coral Observer
Coral Observer is a progressive web app designed to automate data entry and support the centralised Caribbean coral spawning database. Use the Coral Observer app to streamline and automate your spawning data entry and join a network of scientists working together to monitor coral spawning activity around the Caribbean. It’s free and does not require a download.
Get in touch!
If you are interested in learning more about research or conservation, or training in scientific diving skills, please contact me.