Kimberley Marshall-Mills
(she/her)
Graduate Demonstrator
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
- MillsK3@cardiff.ac.uk
- Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT
Overview
As a scientist in marine biomineralization and paleooceanography, I specalise in using techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) to understand the growth mechanisms and biomineralization of marine calcifying organisms. I currently work on coral reef organisms, specializing in giant clam bivalve shells, at the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, working in collaboration with the Natural History Museum, London. I am interested in how biomineralization dynamics translate to marine management and conservation of Bornean coral reefs. In particular, I am excited by the prospect of using turbid coral reefs, those with high sediment input, to shade corals and other reef organisms from bleaching, and understand the resilience of organisms on turbid reefs moving forward in the face of a rapidly changing ocean.
I am also interested in the use of innovative data analysis techniques and software development to contribute to open-source science. At current, I also work on the MioOcean project, which combines records of sea surface temperature from the Miocene epoch. A key goal for this work is to create an open-source online application, where scientists can access and analyse such records for their own research.
Before my post-graduate education, I graduated from Cardiff University in 2019 with a Biological Sciences BSc (Zoology), being awarded the Edith Shepard Prize for Best Final Year Student in Zoology and the Professional Training Year Prize. Throughout my BSc, I undertook a number of research projects focusing on marine invertebrates. In particular, investigating the ecological parameters, morphology and behaviour of marine bristleworms (Polychaeta) in collaboration with Amgueddfa Cymru — National Museum Wales (NMW). Following this, I worked on a research grant awarded by the Porcupine Natural History Society on the redescription of shovelhead worms (Magelona spp.) and then as a marine curatorial assistant at NMW, curating collections of molluscs and other marine invertebrates from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Welsh monitoring surveys.
Publication
2024
- Mills, K. et al. 2024. Microstructure and crystallographic texture data in modern giant clam shells (Tridacna squamosa and Hippopus hippopus). Data in Brief 52, article number: 109947. (10.1016/j.dib.2023.109947)
2023
- Mills, K. and Mortimer, K. 2023. Impact of historic sediment characterisation on predicting polychaete distributions: a case study of so-called muddy habitat shovelhead worms (Annelida: Magelonidae). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 103, article number: E92. (10.1017/S0025315423000826)
- Mills, K., John, E. H., Muir, D. D., Santodomingo, N., Johnson, K. G., Hussein, M. A. S. and Sosdian, S. 2023. Growth responses of mixotrophic giant clams on nearshore turbid coral reefs. Coral Reefs 42, pp. 593-608. (10.1007/s00338-023-02366-8)
2022
- Mills, K. 2022. Understanding shell growth in giant clams with EBSD. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment 3, article number: 424. (10.1038/s43017-022-00311-x)
- Mortimer, K., Mills, K. and Gil, J. 2022. Re-evaluation of Rostraria bierii Tokioka, 1970 (Annelida) from Seto, Japan as a magelonid, with a review of the Magelonidae of the western Pacific. Acta Oceanologica Sinica 41(3), pp. 61–69. (10.1007/s13131-021-1824-0)
2020
- Mortimer, K. and Marshall-Mills, K. 2020. Case 3804 - Magelona minuta Eliason, 1962 (Annelida, Magelonidae): proposed conservation by suppression of Magelona filiformis minuta Wilson, 1959. The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 77(1), pp. 115-123. (10.21805/bzn.v77.a039)
- Mortimer, K., Marshall-Mills, K., Jordana, E., Pinedo, S. and Gil, J. 2020. A further review of European Magelonidae (Annelida), including descriptions of Magelona equilamellae and Magelona filiformis. Zootaxa 4767(1), article number: 89. (10.11646/zootaxa.4767.1.4)
2019
- Marshall-Mills, K. and Mortimer, K. 2019. Observations on the tubicolous annelidMagelona alleni(Magelonidae), with discussions on the relationship between morphology and behaviour of European magelonids. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 99(4), pp. 715-727. (10.1017/S0025315418000784)
2018
- Marshall-Mills, K. and Mortimer, K. 2018. Redescription of Magelona minuta Eliason, 1962 (Annelida), with discussions on the validity of Magelona filiformis minuta. Zootaxa 4527(4), article number: 541. (10.11646/zootaxa.4527.4.5)
Articles
- Mills, K. et al. 2024. Microstructure and crystallographic texture data in modern giant clam shells (Tridacna squamosa and Hippopus hippopus). Data in Brief 52, article number: 109947. (10.1016/j.dib.2023.109947)
- Mills, K. and Mortimer, K. 2023. Impact of historic sediment characterisation on predicting polychaete distributions: a case study of so-called muddy habitat shovelhead worms (Annelida: Magelonidae). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 103, article number: E92. (10.1017/S0025315423000826)
- Mills, K., John, E. H., Muir, D. D., Santodomingo, N., Johnson, K. G., Hussein, M. A. S. and Sosdian, S. 2023. Growth responses of mixotrophic giant clams on nearshore turbid coral reefs. Coral Reefs 42, pp. 593-608. (10.1007/s00338-023-02366-8)
- Mills, K. 2022. Understanding shell growth in giant clams with EBSD. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment 3, article number: 424. (10.1038/s43017-022-00311-x)
- Mortimer, K., Mills, K. and Gil, J. 2022. Re-evaluation of Rostraria bierii Tokioka, 1970 (Annelida) from Seto, Japan as a magelonid, with a review of the Magelonidae of the western Pacific. Acta Oceanologica Sinica 41(3), pp. 61–69. (10.1007/s13131-021-1824-0)
- Mortimer, K. and Marshall-Mills, K. 2020. Case 3804 - Magelona minuta Eliason, 1962 (Annelida, Magelonidae): proposed conservation by suppression of Magelona filiformis minuta Wilson, 1959. The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 77(1), pp. 115-123. (10.21805/bzn.v77.a039)
- Mortimer, K., Marshall-Mills, K., Jordana, E., Pinedo, S. and Gil, J. 2020. A further review of European Magelonidae (Annelida), including descriptions of Magelona equilamellae and Magelona filiformis. Zootaxa 4767(1), article number: 89. (10.11646/zootaxa.4767.1.4)
- Marshall-Mills, K. and Mortimer, K. 2019. Observations on the tubicolous annelidMagelona alleni(Magelonidae), with discussions on the relationship between morphology and behaviour of European magelonids. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 99(4), pp. 715-727. (10.1017/S0025315418000784)
- Marshall-Mills, K. and Mortimer, K. 2018. Redescription of Magelona minuta Eliason, 1962 (Annelida), with discussions on the validity of Magelona filiformis minuta. Zootaxa 4527(4), article number: 541. (10.11646/zootaxa.4527.4.5)
Research
- Sclerochronology
- Molluscs
- Biomineralization
- Marine Biogeochemistry
- Paleoclimatology
- Marine conservation
- Coral reefs
Teaching
- EAT409 - Remote sensing of Hazards and Risk
Research themes
Specialisms
- Biomineralisation
- Geochemistry
- Mineralogy and crystallography
- Climate change impacts and adaptation