Professor Alexander Milner

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Professor of River Ecosystems

Contact details

Telephone: + 44(0)121 41 48098
Fax: + 44(0)121 41 45528
Email: a.m.milner@bham.ac.uk

Address: School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Professor Alexander Milner has been at the University of Birmingham for 15 years, where he was initially responsible for setting up the Environmental Science and Environmental Management degrees. He is now responsible for the Masters degree in River Environmental Management. His research involves river ecosystems in alpine and Arctic environments and has long term studies in Glacier Bay National Park and Denali National Park in Alaska. The study in Glacier Bay represents the longest continual study of stream succession and development within a primary successional framework. Other studies have included how water sources are changing in glacially influenced river systems with climate change and how these changes alter ecological structure and function.

Qualifications

PhD in Aquatic Ecology, University of London
MSc in Applied Hydrobiology University of London
BSc (Hons)in Biological Sciences, University of Aston

Teaching

Courses presently led or contributed to;

Global Environmental Issues
Advanced Issues in Environmental Science
Ecological Systems
Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems
River Ecology, Research and Management, River Assessment and Biomonitoring and River Restoration modules of the Masters in River Environmental Management

Postgraduate supervision

Alexander Milner’s research involves river ecosystems in alpine and Arctic environments and includes long-term studies in Glacier Bay National Park and Denali National Park in Alaska. The study in Glacier Bay represents the longest continual study of stream succession and development within a primary successional framework. Other studies have included how water sources are changing in glacially influenced river systems with climate change and how these changes alter ecological structure and function. Ongoing research includes:

Hydroecology of glacier-fed river systems in Arctic and alpine regions (French Pyrenees, New Zealand, Lapland and Svalbard)
Colonisation and development of new streams in coastal Alaska
Long term variation in benthic communities/upwelling channels of braided floodplains in Denali National Park, interior Alaska

Professor Milner welcomes enquiries from prospective doctoral researchers in his areas of interest.

Other activities

Member of the European Science Foundation peer review panel (2006 -)

Member of the International Profiles Committee and Election/Place Committee of the North American Benthological Society.

Grants and Awards Committee, Freshwater Biological Association

Editorial Board – BMC Ecology (2005 - ), River Research and Applications (2007 - )

Member of the NERC Arctic Programme Advisory Group (March 2010 - )

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Ward , A, Zarnetske, J, Baranov, V, Blaen, P, Brekenfeld, N, Chu, R, Derelle, R, Drummond, J, Fleckenstein, J, Garayburu-Caruso, V, Graham, E, Hannah, D, Harman, C, Hixson, J, Knapp, JLA, Krause, S, Kurz, MJ, Lewandowski, J, Li, A, Martí, E, Miller, M, Milner, S, Neill, K, Orsini, L, Packman, AI, Plont, S, Renteria, L, Roche, K, Royer, T, Schmadel, NM, Segura, C, Stegen, J, Toyoda, J, Wells, J, Wisnoski, NI & Wondzell, SM 2019, 'Co-located contemporaneous mapping of morphological, hydrological, chemical, and biological conditions in a 5th order mountain stream network, Oregon, USA', Earth System Science Data, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 1567-1581. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2019-45, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1567-2019

Docherty, CL, Dugdale, SJ, Milner, AM, Abermann, J, Lund, M & Hannah, DM 2019, 'Arctic river temperature dynamics in a changing climate', River Research and Applications, vol. 35, no. 8, pp. 1212-1227. https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3537

Aspin, TWH, Hart, K, Khamis, K, Milner, AM, O'callaghan, MJ, Trimmer, M, Wang, Z, Williams, GMD, Woodward, G & Ledger, ME 2019, 'Drought intensification alters the composition, body size, and trophic structure of invertebrate assemblages in a stream mesocosm experiment', Freshwater Biology, vol. 64, no. 4, pp. 750-760. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.13259

Aspin, T, Khamis, K, Matthews, T, Milner, A, O'Callaghan, M, Trimmer, M, Woodward, G & Ledger, M 2019, 'Extreme drought pushes stream invertebrate communities over functional thresholds', Global Change Biology, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 230-244. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14495

Aspin, TWH, Matthews, TJ, Khamis, K, Milner, AM, Wang, Z, O'callaghan, MJ & Ledger, ME 2018, 'Drought intensification drives turnover of structure and function in stream invertebrate communities', Ecography, vol. 41, no. 12, pp. 1992-2004. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.03711, https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.03711

Docherty, CL, Riis, T, Milner, AM, Christofferson, KS & Hannah, DM 2018, 'Controls on stream hydrochemistry dynamics in a high Arctic snow-covered watershed', Hydrological Processes, vol. 32, no. 22, pp. 3327-3340. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13256

Milner, A, Picken, J, Klaar, MJ, Robertson, AL, Clitherow, L, Eagle, L & Brown, LE 2018, 'River ecosystem resilience to extreme flood events', Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4300

Malone, ET, Abbott, BW, Klaar, MJ, Kidd, C, Sebilo, M, Milner, AM & Pinay, G 2018, 'Decline in Ecosystem δ¹³C and Mid-Successional Nitrogen Loss in a Two-Century Postglacial Chronosequence', Ecosystems. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-018-0245-1

Docherty, CL, Hannah, DM, Riis, T, Lund, M, Abermann, J & Milner, AM 2018, 'Spatio-temporal dynamics of macroinvertebrate communities in northeast Greenlandic snowmelt streams: Macroinvertebrate community dynamics in Greenlandic snowmelt streams', Ecohydrology. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1982

Blaen, PJ, Kurz, MJ, Drummond, JD, Knapp, JLA, Mendoza-Lera, C, Schmadel, NM, Klaar, MJ, Jäger, A, Folegot, S, Lee-Cullin, J, Ward, AS, Zarnetske, JP, Datry, T, Milner, AM, Lewandowski, J, Hannah, DM & Krause, S 2018, 'Woody debris is related to reach-scale hotspots of lowland stream ecosystem respiration under baseflow conditions', Ecohydrology. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1952

Docherty, CL, Riis, T, Hannah, DM, Rosenhøj Leth, S & Milner, AM 2018, 'Nutrient uptake controls and limitation dynamics in north-east Greenland streams', Polar Research, vol. 37, no. 1, 1440107. https://doi.org/10.1080/17518369.2018.1440107, https://doi.org/10.1080/17518369.2018.1440107

Brown, LE, Khamis, K, Wilkes, M, Blaen, P, Brittain, JE, Carrivick, JL, Fell, S, Friberg, N, Füreder, L, Gislason, GM, Hainie, S, Hannah, DM, James, WHM, Lencioni, V, Olafsson, JS, Robinson, CT, Saltveit, SJ, Thompson, C & Milner, AM 2017, 'Functional diversity and community assembly of river invertebrates show globally consistent responses to decreasing glacier cover', Nature Ecology and Evolution, pp. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0426-x

Docherty, CL, Hannah, DM, Riis, T, Rosenhøj Leth, S & Milner, AM 2017, 'Large thermo-erosional tunnel for a river in northeast Greenland', Polar Science, vol. 14, pp. 83-87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polar.2017.08.001

Docherty, CL, Hannah, DM, Riis, T, Leth, SR & Milner, AM 2017, 'Longitudinal distribution of macroinvertebrates in snowmelt streams in northeast Greenland: understanding biophysical controls', Polar Biology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-017-2212-2

Review article

Comer-Warner, S, Knapp, JLA, Blaen, P, Klaar, M, Shelley, F, Zarnetske, J, Lee-Cullin, J, Folegot, S, Kurz, M, Lewandowski, J, Harvey, J, Ward, A, Mendoza-Lera, C, Ullah, S, Datry, T, Kettridge, N, Gooddy, D, Drummond, J, Martí, E, Milner, A, Hannah, D & Krause, S 2020, 'The method controls the story - Sampling method impacts on the detection of pore-water nitrogen concentrations in streambeds', Science of the Total Environment, vol. 709, 136075. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136075