Mary Kelly-Quinn

Mary Kelly-Quinn is a freshwater ecologist whose research focuses on how land use and other human activities affect the physical, chemical, and ecological quality, as well as the biodiversity, of rivers and streams. She has also conducted studies on lakes, ponds, canals, hyporheic fauna, and riparian zones. In recent years, her work has focused on multiple stressors, with a particular emphasis on those related to climate change.

Mary has led research on ecosystem services and natural capital accounting, with a strong interest in understanding the type and spatial deployment of interventions needed to protect and restore water quality and freshwater biodiversity. Her research extends internationally; as a visiting and affiliated professor at Addis Ababa University, she co-supervises PhD students studying Ethiopian freshwater systems. She is also actively involved in training and promoting citizen science in Ireland.

Within the Climate + Co-Centre, Mary co-leads Platform 2 and contributes to Education and Public Engagement. Her work in Platform 2 focuses on environmental monitoring, including the collection and analysis of data needed to address climate change impacts and halt the degradation of water quality and biodiversity loss.