Professor Nia Whiteley
Head of School / Professor in Zoology (Aquatic)
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.
- 2020
- Published
Contrasting responses to salinity and future ocean acidification in arctic populations of the amphipod Gammarus setosus
Brown, J., Whiteley, N., Bailey, A., Graham, H., Hop, H. & Rastrick, S., 1 Dec 2020, In: Marine Environmental Research. 162, 105176.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Prey vulnerability and predation pressure shape predator-induced changes in O-2 consumption and antipredator behaviour
Karythis, S., Cornwell, T., Gimenez Noya, L., McCarthy, I., Whiteley, N. & Jenkins, S., 1 Sept 2020, In: Animal Behaviour. 167, p. 13-22Research 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
Elevated pCO2 does not impair performance in autotomised individuals of the intertidal predatory starfish Asterias rubens (Linnaeus, 1758)
McCarthy, I., Whiteley, N., Fernandez, W., Ragagnin, M., Cornwell, T., Suckling, C. & Turra, A., Jan 2020, In: Marine Environmental Research. 153, 104841.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2018
- Published
Feeding plasticity more than metabolic rate drives the productivity of economically important filter feeders in response to elevated CO2 and reduced salinity
Rastrick, S., Graham, H., Strohmeier, T., Whiteley, N. & Strand, Ø., 1 Dec 2018, In: ICES Journal of Marine Science. 75, 6, p. 2117-2128Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Sensitivity to near-future CO2 conditions in marine crabs depends on their compensatory capacities for salinity change
Whiteley, N., Suckling, C., Ciotti, B., Brown, J., McCarthy, I., Gimenez Noya, J. & Hauton, C., 23 Oct 2018, In: Scientific Reports. 8, 15639, p. 1-13 13 p., 8:15639.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2017
- Published
Comparison of whole animal costs of protein synthesis among polar and temperate populations of the same species of gammarid amphipod
Whiteley, N. & Rastrick, S., May 2017, In: Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology - Part A: Molecular and Integrative Physiology. 207, p. 100-106 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- 2016
- 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
- 2015
- 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
Validation of the flooding dose technique to determine fractional rates of protein synthesis in a model bivalve species, the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis L.)
McCarthy, I. D., Nicholls, R., Malham, S. K. & Whiteley, N. M., 23 Oct 2015, In: Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular and Integrative Physiology. 191, p. 166-173Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review