Dr Jonathan D.R. Houghton Curriculum Vitae

Transcription

1 Dr Jonathan D.R. Houghton Curriculum Vitae Swansea University Prifysgol Abertawe Contents of Curriculum Vitae Page 1. Personal details University Education Post-doctoral Experience.2 4. Research Overview of current research and interests Publications Lecturing / Teaching / Conferences Lecturing External University Lectures Invited lectures at External Conferences / Symposia Participation in External Conferences / Symposia Public understanding of Science Newspaper articles Television and Radio Internet. 9 1

2 1. Personal details Full name: Dr Jonathan David Roy Houghton Date of birth: 24/03/1970 Place of birth and nationality: Canterbury, UK; British Current post and details of contract: Post-doctoral researcher under Prof. Graeme Hays at Swansea University. Employed on a NERC Urgency Grant (December 2007-June 2008) focussing on the extraordinary abundances, seasonality and climatic drivers of the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca in the northern Irish Sea. Address: Institute of Environment Sustainability, School of the Environment and Society, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK. Web links: j.d.r.houghton@swansea.ac.uk 2. University Education : BSc Marine Biology and Oceanography. Department of Oceanography, University of Southampton, UK : PhD School of Biological Sciences, Swansea University, UK. Supervisor: Prof. Graeme Hays. Title: The Physiological Ecology of Marine Turtles. Awarded: March Field work conducted in: Kefalonia, Greece (loggerhead turtles); Cyprus (loggerhead and green turtles); Seychelles (hawksbill turtles). 3. Post-doctoral Experience 2002 (April-October) and 2003 (February-March): Post-doctoral research assistant (PDRA) at Swansea University: Field work based in Grenada, West Indies, in collaboration with Prof. Graeme Hays. Purpose of field work: NERC satellite tracking programme and deployment of time depth recorders to leatherback turtles (October) 2003 (January): Part-time lecturing assistant and tutor, Swansea University. Under supervision of Prof Graeme Hays (April) 2006 (April): PDRA and project manager for (1) European Regional Development Fund INTERREG IIIA initiative: Leatherback turtles in the Irish Sea: populations, origins and behaviour (Total budget: 250,000) and (2) Countryside Council for Wales Species Challenge Fund: The foraging ecology of leatherback turtles in Tremadoc and Carmarthen Bays ( 20,000) (June-October): PDRA / visiting research fellow: Irish Marine Institute Marine RTDI Networking and Technology Transfer Initiative: Foraging and Migratory Behaviour of Leatherback Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in the Northeast Atlantic. 2

3 2006 (October) 2007 (April): PDRA at Swansea University employed on funds made available to Professor Rory Wilson through a Rolex Award. Training in the deployment of daily-diary data-loggers and analysis of subsequent data (April): Visiting PDRA and scientific advisor to University of Wales Aberystwyth expedition to the Commonwealth of Dominica, West Indies. Deployment of Satellite Relay data loggers to leatherback turtles assess inter-nesting behaviour and nest site fidelity within the Caribbean (June & July): PDRA in Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture Research (CSAR) at Swansea University. Preparation and compilation of Welsh Fisheries Strategy and algal photo bioreactor proposal (August): PDRA at the Coastal Marine Resources Centre at University College Cork, Ireland. (1) Deployment of satellite transmitters and daily diary data loggers to to ocean sunfish (Mola mola) to assess localised and long-term movements in the norther Atlantic and (2) deployment of time depth recorders to compass jellyfish (Chrysaora hysoscella) to assess the nektonic component of jellyfish behaviour. Funded by the Irish Marine Institute, Údarás na Gaeltachta, and Taighde Mara Teo (September-December): PDRA at University of Swansea University: Preparation of sea turtle component for DEFRA report on Climate Change indicators for Migratory Species (December) 2008 (June): PDRA on NERC Urgency Grant focussed on the underlying reasons for the extraordinary abundances of Pelagia noctiluca (leading to substantial fish kills) in the northern Irish Sea. 4. Research 4.1 Overview I am acutely aware of the competitive research climate in the UK and of what is expected of university researchers and academics. The culture of publishing at the highest standard has been fostered in me during my time at Swansea and the continued production of RAE standard manuscripts remains my top priority. This is a goal that I am confident I can achieve by building upon the international collaborations I have established in recent years. In brief my ongoing research may be summarised under the following headings: - Developing novel methods for the study of jellyfish seasonality, abundance and distribution including ships of opportunity, aerial surveys and extensive (Wales & Ireland) shoreline surveys. - Assessing the role of deep sea gelatinous zooplankton (siphonophores, salps, pyrosmes) as predators and prey. - Estimating the energy density of gelatinous zooplankton using bomb calorimetry and proximate biochemical composition. - Migratory behaviour and foraging ecology of obligate jellyfish predators i.e. leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) and ocean sunfish (Mola mola) - The reproductive ecology of sea turtles - Assessing the impacts of climate change on sea turtles populations 3

4 4.2 Publications Hays, GC, Doyle, TK, Houghton, JDR, Lilley, MKS, Metcalfe, JD & Righton, D (in press) Diving behaviour of jellyfish equipped with electronic tags. Journal of Plankton Research. Houghton, JDR, Myers, AE, Liebsch, N, Metcalfe, JD, Mortimer, JA & Hays, GC (in press) Measuring the state of consciousness in a free-living diving animal. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. Doyle TK, Houghton JDR, O'Súilleabháin PF, Hobson VJ, Marnell F, Davenport J & Hays GC (2007) Leatherback turtles satellite-tagged in European waters. Endangered Species Research. doi: /esr00076 Houghton JDR, Myers AE, Lloyd C, King RS, Isaacs C & Hays GC (2007). Protracted rainfall decreases temperature within leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) clutches in Grenada, West Indies: Ecological implications for a species displaying temperature dependent sex determination. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 345: Houghton, JDR, Doyle, TK, Davenport, J, Lilley, MKS, Wilson, RP & Hays, GC (2007). Stranding Events Provide Indirect Insights into the Seasonality and Persistence of Jellyfish Medusae (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa). Hydrobiologia. DOI /s Doyle, TK, Houghton, JDR, Davenport, J & Hays, GC (2007) The energy density of jellyfish: estimates from bomb calorimetry and proximate-composition. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 343: Doyle, TK, Houghton, JDR, Davenport, J & Hays, GC (2006) The broad-scale distribution of five jellyfish species across a temperate coastal environment. Hydrobiologia. DOI: /s * Houghton, JDR, Doyle, TK, Davenport, J & Hays (2006) Jellyfish aggregations and leatherback turtle foraging patterns in a temperate coastal environment. Ecology. 87: Houghton, JDR, Doyle, TK, Davenport, J & Hays, GC (2006) The ocean sunfish Mola mola: insights into distribution, abundance and behaviour in the Irish & Celtic Seas. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 86: 1-7. Houghton, JDR, Doyle, TK, Davenport, J & Hays, GC (2006) Developing a simple, rapid method for identifying and monitoring jellyfish aggregations from the air. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 314: McMahon, CR, Autret, E, Houghton, JDR, Lovell, P, Myers AE & Hays, GC (2005) Animalborne sensors successfully capture the real-time thermal properties of ocean basins. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods. 3: * Hays GC, Houghton, JDR & Myers AE (2004). Pan-Atlantic leatherback turtle movements. Nature. 429: 522 * Hays GC, Houghton JDR, Isaacs C, King RS, Lloyd C & Lovell P (2004). First records of oceanic dive profiles for leatherback turtles, Dermochelys coriacea, indicate behavioural plasticity associated with long-distance migration. Animal Behaviour. 67:

5 Hays GC, Houghton, JDR, Doyle TK & Davenport J (2003). Aircraft give a new view of jellyfish behaviour. Nature 426: 383 Houghton, JDR, Callow, MJ & Hays, GC (2003). Habitat utilisation by juvenile hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata, Linnaeus 1766) around a shallow water coral reef. Journal of Natural History. 37: Houghton, JDR, Broderick AC, Godley BJ, Metcalfe, JD & Hays, GC (2002). Diving behaviour during the internesting interval for loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta nesting in Cyprus. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 227: Hays, GC, Broderick AC, Glen, F, Godley BJ, Houghton, JDR, Metcalfe, JD (2002) Water temperature and internesting intervals for loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles. Journal of Thermal Biology. 27: Godley, BJ, Broderick AC, Downie, JR, Glen, F, Houghton, JDR, Kirkwood, I, Reece, J & Hays GC (2001) Thermal conditions in nests of loggerhead turtles: further evidence suggesting female skewed sex ratios of hatchling production in the Meditteranean. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 263: Houghton, JDR & Hays, GC (2001). Asynchronous emergence by loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) hatchlings. Naturwissenschaften. 88: Houghton, JDR, Woolmer, A & Hays, GC (2000) Sea turtle diving and foraging behaviour around the Greek island of Kefalonia. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 80: Book Chapter: Margaratoulis et al (2003) Loggerhead Turtles in the Mediterranean Sea. In: Loggerhead Sea Turtles (eds. AB Bolten & BE Witherington). Smithsonian Books, Washington. * These papers were the topic of a major news feature in Science: Eli Kintisch (2006). As the seas warm. Science 313, (2006) 5. Lecturing / Teaching Experience 5.1 Swansea University: I have delivered a number of lectures each year between 2002 and 2007 to gain academic experience. This work has been both rewarding and challenging and has taught me a great deal about student motivation, lecture delivery and course structure. It additionally provides an insight into the expectations and demands of lecturing which I feel stands me in good stead for permanent positions in the future. To date I have delivered lectures in the following modules: BIM 338 Planktonic food webs (6 lectures per year) BIM 230 Marine Invertebrates (6 lectures per year) BIM 230 Marine Invertebrates (2 practical sessions per year) BIOM 03 Animal Navigation (Masters Course) (8 lectures per year) BIM 252 Marine Animals (6 lectures per year) BIM 252 Marine Animals (2 practical sessions per year) 5

6 Consistently, these lectures have received very positive feedback from students. Full module assessment forms can be supplied if further information is required. Feedback from course assessment forms is summarised for 3 undergraduate modules below: Dark grey bars = very satisfied Light grey bars = satisfied 6

7 5.2 External University Lectures On a regular basis I am invited to give guest lectures at a number of UK universities including: St Andrews University, National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton; University of Plymouth; University of Liverpool; University of Glasgow; National Museum and Galleries of Wales, Cardiff; National Waterfront Museum, Swansea; University of Coventry; Open University, Milton Keynes. Additionally, over the past 3-years I have delivered more than 50 external lectures to nature conservancy councils, local government bodies and NGOs. 5.3 Invited lectures at External Conferences / Symposia 2004: United Nations, Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), Berlin: Participant in 25 th Anniversary meeting of the CMS. Lecture delivered to delegates on satellite telemetry of leatherback turtles and possible means to reduce international by-catch of these endangered species. 2007: Porcupine Marine Natural History Society Conference, Signs of Change. University of Newcastle March. Oral presentation Leatherbacks, sunfish and jellyfish aggregations. 2007: DEFRA Meeting on Climate Change Indicators for Migratory Wildlife: Evaluating Sea Turtles as a Climate Change (CC) Indicator Species. University of East Anglia, Norwich December Participation in External Conferences / Symposia 1998: 18 th International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation. Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico. Oral Presentation: The sea turtles of Kefalonia, Greece: towards a sustainable future. 1999: 19 th International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation. Orlando, Florida, USA. Poster presentation: Asynchronous hatchling emergence in loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) hatchlings 2001: 21 st International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Poster presentation: The diving behaviour of loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) during the internesting interval. 2002: 22 nd International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation. Miami, Florida, USA. Oral presentation: Patterns of egg failure: timing and implications for sea turtle populations. Poster presentation: Variability in incubation duration: implications for sea turtles at a Mediterranean nesting site. 2007: Aquatic Sciences Meeting of the American Society for Limnology and Oceanography. Santa Fé, New Mexico, 5-9 February. Two papers accepted for oral presentation: (1) Developing a simple, rapid method for identifying jellyfish aggregations from the air; (2) The broad scale distribution of five scyphozoan jellyfish species across a temperate coastal environment. 7

8 6. Public understanding of Science 6.1 Newspaper articles Over recent years I have gained a great deal of experience in promoting science to the broader public. This has resulted in over 20 articles in the following broad-sheet newspapers: The Guardian, The Observer, The Irish Times, The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The Irish Independent, The Sunday Independent, The Irish Examiner, The Sunday Tribune. Features have also appeared in more regional newspapers: South Wales Evening Post, The Wicklow People, The Kerryman. 6.2 Television and Radio As with the printed press, the research in the Irish Sea attracted incredible interest from television and radio stations both on a national and international scale. Principal achievements in the UK include the following interviews and articles: - July2003: BBC Wales Breakfast Show & Radio Cymru. Interview regarding leatherback turtles in Carmarthen Bay, South Wales and the importance of the area for marine conservation. - September 2003: BBC Wales / Radio Cymru News: Leatherbacks and jellyfish in Welsh waters. - July 2004: HTV Wales News. Leatherback turtles and jellyfish in Welsh waters. - August 2004 BBC National Evening News: Leatherback turtles and jellyfish in British Waters. - August 2004: BBC Wales News: Jellyfish aggregations in Welsh waters. - August 2004: BBC Radio 4: Today Programme with John Humphreys. Leatherback turtles and jellyfish aggregations in British Waters. - July 2005: BBC 2 Coast (BBC Natural History Unit): Leatherback turtles and jellyfish in Tremadoc Bay, North Wales. Since shown 10 times on British and Irish TV. - August 2006: South Wales Evening Post: Full feature on Leatherbacks and jellyfish in Welsh waters. - February 2007: The Search for Ireland s Giant Turtles. Bespoke documentary by BBC Natural History Unit detailing the leatherback turtle tracking programme conducted by UWS and University College Cork off the West Coast of Ireland. The programme has subsequently been aired again in the UK and Ireland. - July 2007: BBC1 Saving Planet Earth focussing on endangered Welsh wildlife. Interview focussed on conservation of leatherback turtles in Welsh waters. - July 2007: BBC1 Saving Planet Earth. Compilation of UK conservation highlights with leatherback story included as the target species for Wales. - July 2007: BBC Radio 4 Woman s Hour. Interview regarding the recent, and economically devastating outbreaks of the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca in the Mediterranean Sea. - November 2007: BBC World Service, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5, BBC Radio Birmingham: Outbreaks of the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca causing dramatic fish kills in northern Ireland. - January 2008: BBC Radio Shropshire: Occurrence of Kemps Ridley Turtles in British waters. 8

9 6.3 Internet Since its launch in April 2004 the Irish Sea Turtle Project website (which I co-produce) ( has received widespread praise. Michael Viney of The Irish Times newspaper said it was a most attractive and informative website. This initiative enabled the project to maintain regular contact with our extensive volunteer network (more than 150 people), whilst enabling the volunteers themselves to report their findings to us directly via the internet. It also provided a clear point of reference for interested parties wishing to follow up the any of the stories covered by local and national media. Perhaps the most outstanding success of the website, however, was the overwhelming interest the site received since the satellite tracking trials started in September Since that time the website has received in excess of three million hits, and continues to attract regular visitors almost two years on. 9