About
Title of PhD: Hydroecology of alpine streams in a changing climate
Supervisors: Professor Alexander Milner, Dr David Hannah and Dr Lee Brown (University of Leeds)
Kieran’s research is focused on the hydroecological response of glacier fed streams to climate change. A number of Pyrenean streams representing a gradient of glacial influence will be examined. Water source dynamics, physico-chemical habitat and benthic macroinvertebrate communities will be assessed to determine any changes that have occurred since the streams were last studied during another EU project (AASER: Arctic and Alpine Stream Ecosystem Research) in the 1990s and subsequently by Brown, Hannah and Milner in the early 2000s. This approach will permit evaluation of ecological response to changes in hydrology that have occurred during the recent period of marked glacial recession. These data and associated ACQWA studies in the Swiss Rhone will allow the following aims to be achieved: (1) to improve understanding of alpine stream biodiversity changes under climate and hydrology change, (2) to use collected habitat and biodiversity data to develop further predictive models, and (3) to provide recommendations for conservation strategies in alpine stream ecosystems.
Biography
2010- present: PhD researcher, University of Birmingham
2007 – 2010: Invertebrate taxonomist, APEM ltd
Research
Research interests
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Hydroecology of mountainous and upland environments
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Freshwater invertebrate taxonomy
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Invertebrate communities of submerged macrophytes
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Community ecology
Research group
Water sciences
Funding
EU-FP7 project ACQWA (Assessing Climatic change and impacts on the Quantity and quality of Water)
Other activities
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Royal Geographical Society (RGS) field work grant recipient 2011
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Member of the Freshwater Biological Association (FBA)
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Member of the British Hydrological Society (BHS)
Publications
Finn, D., Khamis, K., and Milner, A (Submitted 2011) Loss of small glaciers will diminish beta diversity in Pyrenean streams at two levels of biological organization. Global Ecology and Biogeograhy.
The energy balance and thermal dynamics of a glacier fed, alpine stream (poster). Peter Wolf Early Career Hydrologists’ Event; Loughborough University, April 2011.
The spatial and temporal changes of macroinvertebrate communities in the littoral region of a eutrophic lake (presentation). Meeting of the West Midland & North-West England Freshwater Group; University of Bolton, September 2008