Dr Adam Moolna BSc MSc PhD FLS FRGS

Geography, nature and history have fascinated me all my life and my work and interests revolve around a mix of the three. Since November 2011 I have been working with the Island Conservation Society, Seychelles, as an environmental management consultant.

I completed my 2.1 BSc (Honours) Natural Sciences at Durham University (2000-2003) studying a mix of biology, geology, geography and political sciences - and undertaking a research visit to Aldabra atoll in Seychelles to study giant tortoise behavioural ecology. I then took my MSc Conservation with a graduate school scholarship from University College London (2003-2004) and spent a brief period studying giant tortoise ecology in Mauritius before returning to Manchester.

After my PhD Plant Sciences at Manchester University, I then worked for two years (2008-10) as a post-doctoral research associate at Oxford University. My research was on the evolution in marine algae of carbon concentrating mechanisms for photosynthesis and their effects on algal physiology, as part of an interdisciplinary project based in the Department of Earth Sciences. For my second post-doctoral position I spent one year working with Dr Jon Pittman on the Carbon Trust's Algal Biofuel Challenge at Manchester University. Our role within this collaborative research project between 14 groups across the UK was to develop optimal conditions for algal lipid productivity and tools to do that.

When the UK Department for Energy and Climate Change cut the Carbon Trust's funding at short notice I went to Seychelles to do some voluntary fieldwork on Aride Island and enjoy being outdoors for a time. I was then taken on as a consultant by the Island Conservation Society to review and improve environmental management across the outer islands of Seychelles.

Amongst various ecology outreach and teaching activities, I am also science coordinator for an invertebrate water quality monitoring initiative on the River Irwell, Manchester.

Peer-reviewed publications

(in prep.) Moolna et al. Optimising biofuel productivity from marine algae with selective seawater supplement combinations.

(2012) Moolna. Making sense of CO2: putting carbon in context. Global Environmental Politics 12(1):1-7

(2011) Moolna & Rickaby. Interaction of the coccolithophore Gephyrocapsa oceanica with its carbon environment: response to a recreated high CO2 geological past. Geobiology 10 (1)

(2010) Moolna & Bowsher. The physiological importance of photosynthetic ferredoxin NADP+ oxidoreductase (FNR) isoforms in wheat. Journal of Experimental Botany 61:2669-81

(2007) Gummadova, Moolna et al. Expression of multiple forms of ferredoxin NADP+ oxidoreductase in wheat leaves. Journal of Experimental Botany 58:3971-85

(2007) Moolna. Preliminary observations indicate that giant tortoise ingestion improves seed germination for an endemic ebony species in Mauritius. African Journal of Ecology 46:217-21