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I
currently have two main areas of research interest in the rapidly expanding
fields of Mathematical Biology and Ecology:
I.
Movement & Behavioural Ecology: modelling the behaviour, movement and dispersal of animals,
micro-organisms and cells;
II.
Population Ecology: mathematical analysis and simulation of the population
dynamics and optimal management strategies of fisheries and marine ecosystems.
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The movement
behaviour of animals and micro-organisms is an interesting and fast-developing
field of study where results and observations can be highly relevant to our
understanding of population dynamics, our understanding of general animal
behaviour and interactions between species and environment, and also aid in
developing and evaluating spatial conservation measures.
Movement behaviour
can be studied at many spatial and temporal scales - from fine scale
observations of micro-zooplankton over a few milliseconds, to annual tracking of
global migration trends in bird flocks of thousands of individuals (and all
scales in-between). Of particular interest is how behaviour at an
individual-level can affect and influence the behaviour and dynamics at the
population- or even species-level.
There are many
different approaches for analysing movement at an individual and/or population
level - from a simple random walk in a homogeneous environment to a highly
complex interacting population in a diverse heterogeneous environment.
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Global marine
fisheries provide the vast majority of fish consumed by humans. However, over
the last 20 years, annual catches have remained static (85-95 million tonnes)
and many fisheries now appear to be in trouble.
It is still
unclear whether these problems are due to poor data and inflexible stock
assessment models used by scientists, political interference and watering down
of scientific advice by managers, or illegal over-fishing and misreporting by
fishermen, but all these factors are likely to have contributed.
Strategies such as
using marine reserves or marine protected areas (MPAs) or long term management
plans using decision-based harvest control rules based on multi-species
interactions are still being discussed and debated with little consensus as to
the best way forward.
It is certainly an
exciting time to be studying fisheries science due to the widespread and
sometimes controversial debate as to what is the best future direction for
fisheries science and management! What remains clear is that something in the
system needs to change before fish stocks are exhausted beyond the chance of
recovery. |
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In
nature, many animals are observed in groups – bird flocks, fish schools, insect
swarms, etc. Animals may form groups for various reasons: avoiding predation,
navigational benefits, or simple social interactions.
Observations of the interactions between individuals in groups
reveals that often only a few simple rules of behaviour can lead to complex
emergent behaviour that is often difficult to predict. Recent advances in
mathematical and computer modelling have allowed us to explore this problem from
a theoretical stand point. Often this involves defining simple decision and
interaction rules across individuals in the group and determining the outcome of
a particular scenario at the group level.
However, testing theoretical models against real biological data is often
difficult. Hence, we have developed experiments that use human crowds as a proxy
for an animal group, so that theories about group decision making processes can
be tested and validated. These human experiments are also relevant to studies in
the fields of psychology and sociology. |
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The
oceans contain only about 0.5% of total global biomass of primary producers.
However, they provide a similar amount of total annual production to that on
land and turnover times for organic matter is 1000-times faster in marine in
comparison to terrestrial ecosystems. Therefore grazing by zooplankton is
disproportionably important and competition among grazers is high.
All organisms release chemicals into the surrounding environment
and at small spatial scales the high viscosity aqueous environment allows the
persistence of chemical gradients and the reliable transmission of chemical
cues. As a consequence chemosensory systems have evolved in a diverse range of
marine taxa. in the vast 3D marine environment non-visual planktonic-grazers
rely on infochemical (information conveying chemical) signals to locate prey or
mates. Conversely, intense grazing pressure has lead to the evolution of defence
mechanisms in phytoplankton.
Microzooplankton and copepods are important grazers of
phytoplankton primary productivity. The ability to detect and respond to
infochemicals associated with rich prey patches may provide vital foraging cues. |
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Click on the following headings for further description, background and web
resources including pictures and links to relevant publications:
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Click on the following headings for further description, background and web
resources including pictures and links to relevant publications:
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Page
last updated December 2012