Rate My Professor Laura Falkenberg

Dr. Laura Falkenberg is a Lecturer in Human Dimensions of the Environment in the School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences, College of Sciences, at Adelaide University. As a marine biologist and ecologist, she focuses on the impacts of human activities on coastal marine organisms, the ecosystems they form, and the services they provide to human societies. Her research addresses key stressors including ocean acidification and warming, nutrient and chemical addition, and microplastic pollution. Falkenberg has conducted studies across diverse settings such as Sweden, Norway, Hong Kong, and Adelaide. She also investigates aspects of scientific practice and communication, publishing on curriculum development, citizen science, accessibility of research summaries, publishing, and peer review.

Falkenberg earned her PhD from the University of Adelaide in 2012 with the thesis titled 'Mediation of global change by local biotic and abiotic interactions' and previously obtained a Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours from the same institution. Her career includes significant contributions to marine ecology, evidenced by highly cited publications such as 'Synergistic effects of climate change and local stressors: CO2 and nutrient-driven change in subtidal rocky habitats' (Global Change Biology, 2009), 'Ocean acidification and human health' (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020), 'Contrasting resource limitations of marine primary producers: implications for competitive interactions under enriched CO2 and nutrient regimes' (Oecologia, 2013), 'Stability of strong species interactions resist the synergistic effects of local and global pollution in kelp forests' (PLoS ONE, 2012), and more recent works like 'Nature-based solutions to the management of legacy plastic pollution: Filter-feeders as bioremediation tools for coastal microplastics' (Science of the Total Environment, 2024) and 'Tracking the coastal bioinvasion by mussels in Hong Kong' (Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2026). She co-supervises PhD students on topics including industrial impacts on coastal ecosystems, management of contaminated sediments, and algal bloom wellbeing effects. In 2017, she served as the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography's first Raelyn Cole Editorial Fellow, enhancing her influence in scientific editing and dissemination.