Professor Nia Whiteley
Head of School / Professor in Zoology (Aquatic)
![](https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/files/8375313/Whiteley.jpg)
Affiliations
Contact info
Room: Room 527, 4th floor Brambell Building
Email: n.m.whiteley@bangor.ac.uk
Phone: 01248 388080
Web: ResearchGate, Google Scholar
I graduated in Zoology from Hull University in 1982 and spent a year as a trainee in the Science Reference Section, British Library, London, before embarking on a PhD in comparative physiology at the University of Birmingham (1984-88). My PhD work on the physiological responses of lobsters to aerial exposure was followed by several postdoctoral posts investigating molecular control of muscle growth in shore crabs (1988-89), physiological/metabolic responses of freshwater crayfish to natural fluctuations in environmental variables (1989-92), and the molecular/ physiological responses of the giant Antarctic isopod to life at temperatures close to freezing (1992-95). A research visit to the University of British Columbia, Canada, enabled me to collaborate on a project studying ion exchange mechanisms in salmon during seawater acclimation (1995-96), and led to a short term project on stress responses in Antarctic fish (1997) in the Dept of Physiology, Birmingham. After completing a temporary lectureship at the School of Biological Sciences, Birmingham, I moved to Biological Sciences at Bangor in 1998, was appointed Senior Lecturer in 2010, and Reader in 2016.
My research focuses on the physiological and metabolic responses of aquatic organisms to environmental change, including underlying mechanisms and ecological implications. I use laboratory and field based studies to assess the physiological capacity of crustaceans to cope with environmental challenges, such fluctuations in temperature, salinity, O2 and CO2 levels. I specialise in studying acid-base balance, ion regulation, respiratory gas exchange, and protein turnover at different levels of biological organisation. I also examine the metabolic costs associated with such changes, and the repercussions on growth and life history traits. My work on the molecular regulation of muscle function in crustaceans, has led to an examination of changes in muscle genotype in amphipod gammarid crustaceans distributed along natural thermal gradients. Collaborative projects have examined physiological responses of marine invertebrates to elevated CO2 and warming, and the energetic costs of physiological adjustments to elevated CO2 and salinity (Saloa Project). We are currently using transgenerational studies to investigate the energetic costs associated with osmoregulation in marine amphipods.
- Published
Linking functional molecular variation with environmental gradients: Myosin gene diversity in a crustacean broadly distributed across variable thermal environments.
Rock, J., Magnay, J. L., Beech, S., El Haj, A. J., Goldspink, G., Lunt, D. H. & Whiteley, N. M., 15 May 2009, In: Gene. 437, 1-2, p. 60-70Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Maternal and cohort effects modulate offspring responses to multiple stressors
Torres, G., Thomas, D. N., Whiteley, N., Wilcockson, D. C. & Gimenez Noya, L., 24 Jun 2020, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 287, 1929, 20200492.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Minimal latitudinal variations in metabolic rate in temperate but not polar amphipod gammarids.
Rastrick, S. P. & Whiteley, N. M., 1 Jan 2008.Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper
- Published
Minimal latitudinal variations in the metabolic rates of temperate but not polar gammarid amphipods.
Rastrick, S. P. & Whiteley, N. M., 1 Jan 2008, 2008 ed. Unknown.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
- Published
Ocean Warming, More than Acidification, Reduces Shell Strength in a Commercial Shellfish Species during Food Limitation
Mackenzie, C. L., Ormondroyd, G. A., Curling, S. F., Ball, R. J., Whiteley, N. M. & Malham, S. K., 28 Jan 2014, In: PLoS ONE. 9, 1, p. e86764Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Phylogeography and environmental diversification of a highly adaptable marine amphipod, Gammarus duebeni.
Rock, J., Ironside, J., Potter, T., Whiteley, N. M. & Lunt, D. H., 11 Apr 2007, In: Heredity. 99, 1, p. 102-111Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Physiological and ecological responses of crustaceans to ocean acidification
Whiteley, N. M., 26 May 2011, In: Marine Ecology Progress Series. 430, p. 257-271Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Physiological responses of marine invertebrates to thermal stress
Whiteley, N. & Mackenzie, C., 11 Mar 2016, Stressors in the Marine Environment. : Physiological and Ecological Responses; Societal Implications. Solan, M. & Whiteley, N. (eds.). Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 56-72 17 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
- Published
Physiological responses to digestion in low salinity in the crabs Carcinus maenas and Cancer irroratus
Penney, C. M., Patton, R., Whiteley, N. M., Driedzic, W. R. & McGaw, I. J., 10 Nov 2015, In: Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular and Integrative Physiology. 191, p. 127-139Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Polar cod, Boreogadus saida (Gadidae), show an intermediate stress response between Antarctic and temperate fishes.
Whiteley, N. M., Christiansen, J. S. & Egginton, S., 1 Dec 2006, In: Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A - Molecular and Integrative Physiology. 145, 4, p. 493-501Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review