Gift Samuel David

I am a PhD researcher in Environmental Biology at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom. My research focuses on how environmental exposure alters the surface properties of microplastics through ecocorona formation, and how these changes influence toxicity in aquatic organisms. Using fish models, I investigate the physiological, behavioural, and molecular effects of environmentally transformed microplastics, with particular interest in how contaminants and additional stressors such as temperature affect animal health, performance, and behaviour.

My academic background is in aquatic ecology, ecotoxicology, and fisheries science. Before starting my PhD, I worked on a range of environmental research projects examining the impacts of microplastics, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, oil spills, and sand mining on aquatic ecosystems. My work has also explored freshwater and brackish-water macrobenthic communities, the use of aquatic organisms as bioindicators of pollution, and the nutritional biology of African catfish species. I am also interested in ecological behaviour and biomechanics, especially how environmental stress shapes movement, performance, and organism–environment interactions.

Through my research, I aim to improve understanding of emerging contaminants and the mechanisms by which environmental change affects the health of aquatic organisms. My broader interests include aquatic toxicology, environmental risk assessment, pollution ecology, behavioural and mechanical responses to stress, and the conservation of freshwater and marine ecosystems.