Jason Cleland MSc Research Assistant

RESEARCH

My work seeks to understand the drivers of biodiversity across space and time in the context of climate change and increasing human impacts on the marine environment. I studied BSc Ecological and Environmental Sciences and MSc Marine Systems and Policies at the University of Edinburgh, and have four years of research training across multiple projects. My focus is on benthic communities (e.g., sponge grounds, coral gardens, coral reefs) in deep-water environments such as cold seeps, seamounts, and shipwrecks. I am very interested in better understanding carbon fluxes and how the surface and seafloor are connected through downward and upward coupling, and also the question of net gain in marine decommissioning of oil and gas platforms.

I believe in the importance of science-based decision making. I have worked on a range of projects that intersect with ocean governance and the development of marine policies that underpin the conservation and management of biodiversity. These include, for example, support of the Convention on Biological Diversity process for the Tropic Seamount EBSA designation in the High Seas; developing documentation to support the re-nomination of the North Atlantic and Evlanov Sea basin MPA in the North Atlantic; updating the technical definition of Coral Gardens in UK waters with the JNCC [Cleland et al., in press]; assessing the environmental impact analysis for a pre-prototype deep-sea mining nodule collector; and assessing the ecological vulnerability and biodiversity action plans for a gas extraction project.

Much of my work involves combining video annotation techniques with environmental data to understand the drivers behind the distribution of sponges, corals, fishes, and other megafauna. Collaboration with teams and individuals across local communities, academic institutions, local and national governments, non-governmental organisations, and various industries, are central to my research approach.

My aims for the future include a continued research output and engagement at the science-policy interface with a focus on biodiversity of marine artificial structures, the biological carbon pump, and skills in taxonomy and stable isotope analysis such as for megafauna at abyssal polymetallic nodule fields, and seamount, shipwreck, and chemosynthetic environments.

Key interests: biodiversity conservation, benthic ecology, behavioural ecology, chemosynthetic environments, shipwreck ecology, biogeography, underwater cultural heritage, marine monitoring

EDUCATION

MSc, Marine Systems and Policies, University of Edinburgh, School of GeoSciences (2019-2020, Distinction). Thesis: A risk-based approach to improve protections of the national status of Priority Marine Features from multiple-farm aquaculture impacts outside Scotland’s Marine Protected Area network.

BSc, Ecological and Environmental Sciences, University of Edinburgh, School of GeoSciences (2014-2018, 2:1 Hons). Thesis: Distribution of deep-sea sponge grounds formed by the hexactinellid Poliopogon amadou on the Tropic Seamount in the High Seas.

AWARDS/SCHOLARSHIPS

I was awarded the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) scholarship to study my Master of Science degree at the University of Edinburgh. For my thesis, I proposed a prototype tool to improve the assessment of multiple-farm impacts to inshore benthic fauna during the aquaculture licensing process in Scotland.

I am an alumnus of the Georgia Rotary Student Program (GRSP) Class of 2013/14. I was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Whitburn in Scotland, and the Rotary Club of Dublin and the Rotary Club of Milledgeville in the United States of America, where I studied American history, biology, creative writing, and environmental science, as a freshman at Georgia College and State University.

PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

Vad, J., Cleland, J.,  De Clippele, L.H., De Froe, E., Kazanidis, G., Blackbird, S., Van Oevelen, D., Head, E., Yashayaev., I., Kenchington, E., de Moura Neves, B., Edinger, E., Coté, D. and Roberts, J.M. (2025). Drivers of Coral and Sponge Community Composition and Size Structure Revealed With Cumulative Abundance Profiles. Marine Ecology, 46, 70030.

Cleland, J., Gebruk, A., Roberts, J.M., Aleynik, D., McClenaghan, B., Mather, R., Buxton, B. and Ross, S.W. (2025). Megafauna of the RMS Titanic shipwreck and a nearby seamount ridge in the deep sea of the western North Atlantic. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 104544.

Henry, L.A., Cleland, J., Gebruk, A., Emmerson, R., Hennicke, J., Davies, T. and Roberts, J.M. (2025). Navigating a transformative policy route for High Seas conservation. Marine Policy, 180, 106785.

Cleland, J., Kazanidis, G., Roberts, J.M. and Ross, S.W. (2021). Distribution of Megabenthic Communities Under Contrasting Settings in Deep-Sea Cold Seeps Near Northwest Atlantic Canyons. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, e692851.

Ramiro-Sánchez, B., González-Irusta, J.M., Henry, L.A., Cleland, J., Yeo, I., Xavier, J.R., Carreiro-Silva, M., Sampaio, Í., Spearman, J., Victorero, L. and Messing, C.G. (2019). Characterization and mapping of a deep-sea sponge ground on the Tropic Seamount (Northeast Tropical Atlantic): Implications for spatial management in the high seas. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6, 278.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS / SUBMISSIONS

Revised Nomination Proforma for the “North Atlantic Current and Evlanov Sea basin” MPA in the OSPAR Maritime Area (Region V, Wider Atlantic)” [June 2023]. https://www.ospar.org/documents?v=51436 [REVIEWED BY ICES]

Comments to the Government of India’s Ministry of Earth Science on the Environmental Impact Statement for a polymetallic nodule collector pre-prototype for deep-sea mining issue in March 2020’ submission to the Indian Government and International Seabed Authority [May 2020] (Minerals Working Group, DOSI). https://www.dosi-project.org/wp-content/uploads/DOSI_Submission_MoESEIS.pdf [CONSULTATION RESPONSE]

PUBLISHED DATASETS

Cleland et al. (2024). Spatial layers supporting the revised nomination proforma for the North Atlantic Current and Evlanov Sea basin Marine Protected Area – https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.970952

Cleland et al. (2024). Benthic megafauna abundance from Norfolk and Baltimore Canyons chemosynthetic environments – https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.968713

Cleland et al. (2023). Conductivity, temperature, and depth measurements at the RMS Titanic wreck and a seamount ridge in the deep waters of the western North Atlantic in summer 2022 – https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.961181

Roberts et al. (2023). Total alkalinity and dissolved inorganic carbon measurements at the RMS Titanic wreck and a seamount ridge in the deep waters of the western North Atlantic in summer 2022 – https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.961187

Ramiro-Sánchez et al. (2020). Compilation of records of vulnerable marine ecosystem indicator taxa in the North Atlantic – https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.920658