Paul J. Somerfield Obituary, In Loving Memory Of Paul J. Somerfield

Paul J. Somerfield Obituary, Death – It is upsetting to learn that Paul J. Somerfield passed away just the previous week. A positive learning experience was gained from working on papers with him. Following a brief battle with sickness, our dear friend and fellow scholar, Professor Paul Somerfield, has passed away. We are devastated by this news and will miss him greatly. Paul joined PML in 1991 as a Higher Scientific Officer (HSO), originally focusing on the identification and taxonomy of meiofauna, then going on to lead various studies on a wide variety of marine themes; ranging from bacteria to sharks. Paul has an insatiable curiosity and is passionate about all areas of marine life.

Before moving to Plymouth, Paul completed his doctoral research on marine mites at the Trinity College of the University of Dublin. After that, he traveled throughout Australia and Southeast Asia, where he indulged his passion for the underwater world by scuba diving (he would later become PML’s Diving Officer), and even worked in a traveling circus! Over the course of the past three decades, Paul has developed a reputation for being a highly respected and well-liked senior member of staff. He has participated in a large number of international and national panels, committees, and working groups. Paul is recognized by those with whom he has worked as having an impressively broad knowledge base and an inquisitive approach to finding solutions to issues.

Paul’s early work at PML was alongside his colleague, Dr. Mike Gee, and centered on the study of benthic meiofauna, analyzing the impacts of various types of pollution in UK coastal waters. Paul is an experienced writer, a good taxonomist, and a maestro of statistical analysis. His work at PML was initially on the study of benthic meiofauna. Paul worked primarily in PML’s Community Ecology group, which later became the Biodiversity group. He also worked alongside Professor Bob Clarke and Professor Richard Warwick, becoming heavily involved in the “Plymouth Routines in Multivariate Ecological Research” or PRIMER-e software and methods, which are now well-established for statistical research in more than 130 countries around the world.

In following years, Paul became well-known for his teaching on a variety of PRIMER-e courses, and he was known for being extremely generous with his time in order to assist participants in exploring and publishing their data after the conclusion of the courses. Hundreds had the opportunity to witness firsthand his genuine passion for assisting others as well as his interest in many facets of marine biology. Paul derived a great deal of satisfaction from being able to assist others in accomplishing their goals.