Having obtained a BSc (Hons) in Marine Biology at the University of Liverpool, UK (1983), Prof Mark Gibbons started off his career working voluntarily with John Ryland (Swansea University, UK) on the taxonomy of Fijian hydroids. He came to South Africa in 1984, to start what would turn out to be a PhD with Charles Griffiths at the University of Cape Town (UCT) on the ecology of rocky shore meiofauna.
Later he secured a Research Post with the Benguela Ecology Program (BEP) in 1989 to look at the interactions between the food environment, and zooplankton feeding and behavior. This was funded by the Foundation for Research Development (FRD), who seconded him to the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in 1995, where he has remained ever since.
Prof Gibbons' interests are in marine ecology, specifically pelagic ecology and biological oceanography: He has a special interest in zooplankton and in the processes responsible for structuring assemblages at all temporal and spatial scales. Prof Gibbons has also run a research program on marine invertebrate biodiversity, which essentially follows an interest in training students in the taxonomy and systematics of marine invertebrates.
He collaborates widely with colleagues across the world, including within Africa. Prof Gibbons is an Associate Editor of the African Journal of Marine Science, and he currently sits on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Plankton Research.