Louise Allcock is a British researcher, best known for her work on ecology and evolution of the

cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head ...

s of the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...

and deep sea. She is the editor of the ''

Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society The ''Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering zoology published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Linnean Society. The editor-in-chief is Maarten Christenhusz (Linnean Society). ...

''.

Early life and education

Allcock graduated in marine biology (with honours) at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

in 1992. She went on to earn a PhD there in 1998.

Career and impact

Allcock is the editor of the ''Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society'' and was co-editor of the ''

Journal of Natural History The ''Journal of Natural History'' is a scientific journal published by Taylor & Francis focusing on entomology and zoology. The journal was established in 1841 under the name ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History'' (''Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.'') an ...

'' from 2007–2015. She was the president of the Cephalopod International Advisory Council (CIAC) from 2012–2015. Allcock has also worked on gender equality, and is a member of the gender equality task force in Ireland. She has highlighted the role and impact of female researchers in cephalopod research. Allcock's research focuses on the ecology, evolutionary biology and systematics of molluscs. Her research expertise also lies in

benthic ecology The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning " ...

. She has participated in cruises in and around the Antarctic and the

South Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

, sometimes as leader. As of summer 2016, she is working on taxonomically poor sponges,

cnidarians Cnidaria () is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species of aquatic animals found both in freshwater and marine environments, predominantly the latter. Their distinguishing feature is cnidocytes, specialized cells that th ...

and

ascidians Ascidiacea, commonly known as the ascidians, tunicates (in part), and sea squirts (in part), is a polyphyletic class in the subphylum Tunicata of sac-like marine invertebrate filter feeders. Ascidians are characterized by a tough outer "tunic" ...

. Since 2013, Allcock has been a lecturer in zoology at

NUI Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

. She has also served as Bipolar species co-ordinator for the

British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on ...

from (June 2009 to March 2010), lecturer in Marine Biology,

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

(September 2002 to March 2008) and Curator of Mollusca,

National Museums of Scotland National Museums Scotland (NMS; gd, Taighean-tasgaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It runs the national museums of Scotland. NMS is one of the country's National Collections, ...

, Edinburgh (July 1998 to August 2002). On 1 February 2018, Allcock was one of the guests on the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

discussion programme

In Our Time In Our Time may refer to: * ''In Our Time'' (1944 film), a film starring Ida Lupino and Paul Henreid * ''In Our Time'' (1982 film), a Taiwanese anthology film featuring director Edward Yang; considered the beginning of the "New Taiwan Cinema" * ''In ...

, hosted by

Melvyn Bragg Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg, (born 6 October 1939), is an English broadcaster, author and parliamentarian. He is best known for his work with ITV as editor and presenter of ''The South Bank Show'' (1978–2010), and for the BBC Radio 4 documenta ...

, about Cephalopods.

Awards and honours

Allcock was the last author on the best scientific paper on cephalopod research 2006–2009 awarded by the Cephalopod International Advisory Council (CIAC). The paper on the origin for deep-sea octopuses was also the highlight in the Census of Marine Life press release at the 1st World Congress of Marine Biodiversity, Valencia 2008.

Selected publications

*Strugnell, J.M., Norman, M.D., Vecchione, M., Guzik, M. and Allcock, A.L., 2014. The ink sac clouds octopod evolutionary history. Hydrobiologia, 725(1), pp. 215–235. * *Wilson, A.M., Kiriakoulakis, K., Raine, R., Gerritsen, H.D., Blackbird, S., Allcock, A.L. and White, M., 2015. Anthropogenic influence on sediment transport in the Whittard Canyon, NE Atlantic. Marine pollution bulletin, 101(1), pp. 320–329. *Finn, D.I., Clarke, M., Gilbert, M.T.P., Allcock, L., Kampmann, M.L., Schroeder, H., Guerra, A., Norman, M., Winkelmann, J.I., Campos, P.F. and Strugnell, J., 2013. Mitochondrial genome diversity and population structure of. *Allcock, A.L. and Strugnell, J.M., 2012. Southern Ocean diversity: new paradigms from molecular ecology. Trends in ecology & evolution, 27(9), pp. 520–528. * ''Octopus, Squid, and Cuttlefish: A Visual Scientific Guide to the Oceans' Most Advanced Invertebrates'', Roger Hanlon, Mike Vecchione, Louise Allcock, University of Chicago Press, 2018

References

External links

*
marinescience.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Dr-A-Louise-Allcock-CV.pdf

deepseaexperts.org/node/561

nuigalway.ie/our-research/people/natural-sciences/louiseallcock/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allcock, Louise Living people Alumni of the University of Liverpool British marine biologists British women scientists British editors British women editors British Antarctic scientists Teuthologists Women Antarctic scientists Women marine biologists Year of birth missing (living people) Academic journal editors