Dr. Clive Trueman
Trace element and stable isotope composition of biological materials and the application of biominerals chemistry to questions in both ancient and modern systems including: Migration, stock identification and ecosystem structure in marine fish communities. Diagenesis. Relative and absolute dating of ancient bone apatite. Taphonomy and site stratigraphy. Movement, diet and extinction dynamics in archaeology |
Post-doctoral Fellows
Dr. Kirsteen Mackenzie
My research uses stable isotopes and trace elements to research the decline of the wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) from the early 1970s to present day. Samples are taken from multi-decadal archives of salmon scales, routinely taken for ageing studies. These are analysed to determine geochemical information on diet, trophic status and movements in the cryptic marine phase of the salmon life history, which is when most mortality is thought to occur. Overall, my interests lie in spatio-temporal fish population ecology, particularly on species of conservation concern, using geochemical techniques and GIS analysis. |
Postgraduate Researchers
Christopher Bird
My current research objectives are centred around the spatial and trophic ecology of deep-sea chondrichthyans. I will be using geochemical tracers and historic catch data to support evidence of long-term long-distant migrations in multiple deep-water shark species. I am also interested in the trophic role, composition, abundance and size structure of chondrichthyan assemblages within deep-water ecosystems and how this may vary between ocean regions. Using a range of tissue samples, I will infer ontogenetic developments in both trophic and spatial life history ecology. |
Ming-Tsung Chung
I am currently working on the issue of deep-sea fish ecology and use multidisciplinary approaches to answer the questions of functional behaviours and life history of deep-sea fish. First, the sensory ability of vision and hearing/balance is investigated from retinal ganglion cells and otolith morphology to predict functional behaviours. Second, the examination of otolith microstructure gives a clue of life history traits, such as the age and the growth rate. Third, the signals of stable oxygen and carbon isotopes in the otolith facilitate reconstructing chronological vertical migration and metabolism of deep-sea fish. |
Matthew Cobain
Life is incredibly diverse, yet most of this variation is encompassed by individual body size, which varies across 21 orders of magnitude. Interestingly, metabolism, which constrains many other biological processes, scales with body mass by a 3/4 power law (the metabolic theory of ecology - MTE). Using a scaling approach, ecosystems can be modelled as individual size class spectra (rather than the traditional species average nodes), which allows for whole system energy fluxes to be modelled. My PhD research focuses on the temporal variability of such scalings in coastal ecosystems, comparing field data with the zeroth order predictions expected from MTE. |
Katie St. John Glew
I will be working on carbon and nitrogen isoscapes within the North Sea and coastal UK regions, and looking at the assignment of various highly migratory species within this region. I will also be working on isoscapes based around New Zealand waters, and researching the capabilities and limitations of different isotope techniques with different types of species in these regions. |
Sarah Magozzi
I am looking at habitat use and movement patterns in highly migratory marine animals (such as pelagic sharks) by using a combination of stable isotope data and spatial models. I have extended a mechanistic model to predict geographic and temporal variations in the carbon isotope composition of phytoplankton (isoscapes) across the global ocean. Model dynamic isoscapes provide a tool to explore the effects of baseline variations on consumer tissue isotopic compositions, and a reference against which tissue isotopes can be compared to estimate location, movements and migratory connectivity. |
Rhiannon Meier
I am interested in understanding how seabirds and other marine top predators use their environment over varying spatial and temporal scales, and what factors influence movement behaviours in this group. Why individuals engage in the foraging behaviour and migration strategies that they do are central questions to my current research, which is focused on the critically endangered Balearic shearwater. |
Clare Prebble
I will be examining the movement patterns and feeding ecology of whale sharks using data from stable isotope analysis and fatty acid analysis of tissue samples, and electronic tagging. My main field sites are in southern Mozambique, and Mafia Island, Tanzania. I also intend to collaborate with researchers based at whale shark aggregation sites in Saudi, Qatar, Philippines, Galapagos, and St Helena. I hope to get a global view of whale shark diet and movement patterns, and any sexual and ontogenetic differences in behaviour especially the behaviour of the mature females. |
Katie Quaeck
I am currently in the process of developing, corroborating and applying a novel protocol to the study of juvenile ecology and migration/movement patterns in sharks and other fish species. The work involves establishing what ecological information is contained within the chemistry of eye lenses, developing a suitable protocol to extract this information, before applying the protocol to case-study species. I am also in the process of constructing an atlas of the structure of eye lenses from a wide range of taxonomic and functional groups, including salmon (Salmo salar), deep-water fishes (Coryphaenoides rupestris and Aphonopus carbo) and sharks (Lamna nasus, Prionace glauca and Squalus acanthias). |
Diana Shores
My PhD research involves development of a new geochemical proxy method to measure relative field metabolic rate using stable isotope analysis of otolith carbonate. The isotopic composition of carbon in otoliths has been linked to metabolic rate in several previous studies but to date this link has not been exploited to infer metabolic rates in wild fishes.This study will combine metabolic traits with morphological and trophic data, obtained from fishes sampled along a depth transect on the continental slope, to provide the most complete picture of deep-water fish ecology available to date. |
Rui Pedro Vieira
Changes in deep-sea benthic communities and fisheries in the European margin: assessing environmental drivers and anthropogenic impacts. |