People > Dr Angus Atkinson

Dr Angus Atkinson

Plankton Ecologist



Contact Details

+44 (0)1752 633100 (switchboard)

aat15/11/2019 02:37:32@pml.ac.uk

Dr Angus Atkinson is a marine ecologist with over 25 years of research experience and over 100 publications.

He currently leads the plankton ecology group at PML and co-leads the NERC-funded Western Channel Observatory, where is responsible for the delivery of plankton data from this valuable 25-year time series.

Before 2012 Dr Atkinson worked at the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge where he studied the distribution, feeding and energy budgets of zooplankton, particularly copepods and Antarctic krill.

Angus' current research interests lie in bentho-pelagic coupling, involving zooplankton vertical migration and gravitational fluxes, phenology shifts and seasonal succession in plankton communities, zooplankton feeding and pelagic food webs, as well as the role of zooplankton in biogeochemical cycles, particularly in modifying nutrient ratios in particulate matter.

 

Projects

MOSAiC SYM-PEL

Quantifying the contribution of sympagic versus pelagic diatoms to Arctic food webs and biogeochemical fluxes (MOSAiC SYM-PEL)

Contact: Dr Angus Atkinson

At the base of the Arctic food web, there are three major primary producers: small flagellates, diatoms living in open water (pelagic) and diatoms...

AlterEco

An Alternative Framework to Assess Marine Ecosystem Functioning in Shelf Seas (AlterEco)

Contact: Dr Tim Smyth

AlterEco aims to develop a new observational framework based upon the latest marine autonomous systems (MAS) to improve the spatio-temporal...

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Other key projects

NERC Shelf Sea Biogeochemistry Programme (SSB): Co-leader of grazing module 4 of the pelagic component of SSB

NERC Marine Ecosystems Research Programme (MERP): leader of fieldwork module 2

Western Channel Observatory time series
 


Recent publications

  • Instrument and Data Technician 

    £23,630 per annum 

    Full Time - 3 year Fixed Term Appointment 

    Do you have a background in building/developing scientific instrument systems and providing specialist technical support? Do you want to further your career in one of the UK’s leading marine research laboratories, making crucial steps to understanding how the oceans and marine atmosphere influence air pollution and climate?

    Plymouth Marine Laboratory has a strong track record in world leading Air-Sea Exchange (ASE) research. In recent years, the ASE group has had considerable success establishing a coastal atmospheric research station at Penlee Point (https://www.westernchannelobservatory.org.uk/penlee/) and developing the capability to make autonomous direct measurements of air/sea CO2 exchange from ships (e.g. https://www.westernchannelobservatory.org.uk/autoflux/discovery/). We require a Junior Technologist to help us to build upon these successes.

    As a key member of the ASE team your role will be to maintain and improve remote instrumentation at Penlee and on ships fitted with air/sea flux systems. You will drive forward the automation of remote instrumentation and develop novel methods of data acquisition and delivery using embedded PC technologies (e.g. Raspberry PI) and Python scripting. You will be responsible for data processing and quality control and will contribute to scientific interpretation and research outputs. You will be jointly responsible for the day-to-day running of the ASE laboratory and Penlee facility.

    This post is available immediately and for a fixed term of three years. To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact the air/sea exchange group lead (Dr Tom Bell) via careers@pml.ac.uk 

    For this role we are open to discuss the possibility of reduced hours, flexible working or possible job share.

    Please see the link for our  Employee Benefits

    Closing date: 5pm on Tuesday 10th December 2019

    Interviews will take place on Tuesday 4th February 2020


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Selected key publications

Atkinson A, Hill SH, Barange M, Pakhomov EA, Raubenheimer D, Schmidt K, Simpson SJ, Reiss C (2014) Sardine cycles, krill declines and locust plagues: revisiting “wasp-waist” food webs. Trend in Ecology and Evolution 29: 309-316

Smyth TJ, Allen I, Atkinson A, Bruun JT, Harmer RA, Pingree RD, Widdicombe CE, Somerfield PJ (2014) Ocean net heat flux influences seasonal to interannual patterns of plankton abundance PLoS One 9(6) e98709

Schmidt K, Atkinson A, Pond DW, Ireland LC (2014). Feeding and overwintering of Antarctic krill across its major habitats: the role of sea ice cover, water depth, and phytoplankton abundance. Limnol Oceanogr 59: 17-36.

Lindeque PK, Parry HE, Harmer RA, Somerfield PJ, Atkinson, A (2013) Next generation sequencing reveals the hidden diversity of zooplankton assemblages. PLoS One 8 (11) e81327

Atkinson A, Fileman E, Widdicombe C, Harmer R, McEvoy A, Harris R, Smyth T (2013) 7.5 Plymouth L4 (Site 48) In: O’ Brien TD, Wiebe PH, Falkenhaug T (Eds) ICES Zooplankton Status Report 2010/2011. ICES Cooperative Research Report No. 318, p 127-131.

Hill SL, Phillips A, Atkinson A (2013) potential climate change effects on the habitat of Antarctic krill in the Weddell quadrant of the Southern Ocean PLoS One 8 (8) e72246

Flores H, Atkinson A and others (2012) Krill and Climate Change. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 458: 1-19

Atkinson A, Nicol S, Kawaguchi S, Pakhomov EA, Quetin LB, Ross RM, Hill S,Reiss C, Siegel V (2012) Fitting Euphausia superba into Southern Ocean food web models: a review of data sources and their limitations. CCAMLR Science 19: 219-245.

Atkinson A, Ward P, Hunt BPV, Pakhomov EA, Hosie GW (2012) An overview of Southern Ocean zooplankton data: abundance, biomass, feeding and functional relationships. CAMLR Science 19: 171-218

Mackey AP, Atkinson A, Hill SL, Ward P, Cunningham NJ, Johnston NM, Murphy EJ (2012) Antarctic macrozooplankton of the southwest Atlantic sector and Bellingshausen Sea: baseline historical distributions (Discovery Investigations, 1928-1935) related to temperature and food, with projections for subsequent ocean warming Deep-Sea Res II 59/60: 130-146

Hill SL, Lees K, Atkinson A, Murphy EJ (2012) A foodweb model to explore uncertainties in the South Georgia shelf pelagic ecosystem. Deep-Sea Res II 59/60: 237-252

Stowasser G, Atkinson A, McGill RAR, Phillips RA, Collins MA, Pond DW (2012) Food web dynamics in the Scotia Sea in summer: a stable isotope study. Deep-Sea Res II 59/60: 208-221

Venables, HJ, Meredith MP, Atkinson A, Ward P (2012) Fronts and habitat zones in the Scotia Sea. Deep-Sea Res II 59/60: 14-24.

Schmidt K, Atkinson A, Venables HJ, Pond DW (2012) Early spawning of Antarctic krill in the Scotia Sea is fuelled by “superfluous feeding” on non-ice-associated phytoplankton blooms. Deep-Sea Research II 59/60: 159-172

Atkinson A, Schmidt K, Fielding S, Kawaguchi S, Geissler P (2012) Variable food absorption by Antarctic krill: relationships between diet, egestion rate and the composition and sinking rates of their fecal pellets. Deep-Sea Research II 59/60: 147-158

Whitehouse, MJ, Atkinson A, Korb RE, Venables HJ, Pond DW, Gordon M (2012) Substantial primary production in the land-remote region of the central and northern Scotia Sea. Deep-Sea Res II 59/60: 47-56 

Ward P, Atkinson A, Venables HJ, Tarling GA, Whitehouse MJ, Fielding S, Collins MA, Korb, RE, Black A, Stowasser G, Schmidt K, Thorpe S, Enderlein (2012) Food web structure and bioregions in the Scotia Sea: a seasonal synthesis. Deep-Sea Res II 59/60: 253-266

Ward P, Atkinson A, Tarling GA (2012) Mesozooplankton community structure and variability in the Scotia Sea: a seasonal comparison. Deep-Sea Res II 59/60: 78-92

Venables, HJ, Meredith MP, Atkinson A, Ward P (2012) Fronts and habitat zones in the Scotia Sea. Deep-Sea Res II 59/60: 14-24.

Stowasser G, Atkinson A, McGill RAR, Phillips RA, Collins MA, Pond DW (2012) Food web dynamics in the Scotia Sea in summer: a stable isotope study. Deep-Sea Res II 59/60: 208-221

Hill SL, Lees K, Atkinson A, Murphy EJ (2012) A foodweb model to explore uncertainties in the South Georgia shelf pelagic ecosystem. Deep-Sea Res II 59/60: 237-252

Mackey AP, Atkinson A, Hill SL, Ward P, Cunningham NJ, Johnston NM, Murphy EJ (2012) Antarctic macrozooplankton of the southwest Atlantic sector and Bellingshausen Sea: baseline historical distributions (Discovery Investigations, 1928-1935) related to temperature and food, with projections for subsequent ocean warming Deep-Sea Res II 59/60: 130-146

Tarling GA, Ward P, Atkinson A, Collins MA, Murphy EJ (2012) DISCOVERY 2010: spatial and temporal variability in a dynamic polar ecosystem. Deep-Sea Res II 59/60: 1-13

Atkinson A, Ward P, Hunt BPV, Pakhomov EA, Hosie GW (2012) An overview of Southern Ocean zooplankton data: abundance, biomass, feeding and functional relationships. CAMLR Science 19: 171-218

Atkinson A, Nicol S, Kawaguchi S, Pakhomov EA, Quetin LB, Ross RM, Hill S,Reiss C, Siegel V (2012) Fitting Euphausia superba into Southern Ocean food web models: a review of data sources and their limitations. CCAMLR Science 19: 219-245.

Flores H, Atkinson A, Rebolledo E, Cirelli V, Cuzin-Roudy J, Fielding S, van Franeker JA, Groeneveld JJ, Haraldsson M, Kawaguchi S, Krafft BA, Lombana A, Marschoff E, Meyer B, Milinevsky G, Nicol S, Pakhomov EA, Vande Pute AP, Reiss C, Rombolá E, Schmidt K, Siegel V, Tarling GA, Teschke M, Tonkes H, Toullec J-Y, Trathan PN, Tremblay N, Werner R, Werner T. (2012) Krill and Climate Change. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 458: 1-19

Murphy EJ, Watkins JL, Reid K, Meredith MP, Hill S, Thorpe SE, Johnston, N, Clarke A, Tarling G, Collins M, Forcada J, Atkinson A, Ward P, Staniland I, Pond D, Cavanagh R, Shreeve R, Korb R, Whitehouse M, Rodhouse PG, Enderlein P, Hirst A, Martin A, Briggs ID, Cunningham N, Fleming A (2012) Spatial and temporal operation of the Scotia Sea ecosystem. In Rogers AD, Johnston NM, Murphy EJ, Clarke A (Eds) Antarctic ecosystems: an extreme environment in a changing world. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 201 pp

Hill SL, Phillips A, Atkinson A (2013) potential climate change effects on the habitat of Antarctic krill in the Weddell quadrant of the Southern Ocean PLoS One 8 (8) e72246 doi 10.1371/journal.pone.0072246  

Lindeque PK, Parry HE, Harmer RA, Somerfield PJ, Atkinson, A (2013) Next generation sequencing reveals the hidden diversity of zooplankton assemblages. PLoS One 8 (11) e81327 

Atkinson A, Siegel, V, Pakhomov EA, Rothery P, Loeb V, Ross RM, Quetin LB, Schmidt K, Fretwell P, Murphy EJ, Tarling GA, Fleming AH (2008) Oceanic circumpolar habitats of Antarctic krill. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 362: 1-23  Atkinson A, Siegel V, Pakhomov EA, Jessopp MJ, Loeb V (2008) A re-appraisal of the total biomass and annual production of Antarctic krill. Deep-Sea Res I 56: 727-740.

Atkinson A, Schmidt K, Fielding S, Kawaguchi S, Geissler PA (2012) Variable food absorption by Antarctic krill: relationships between diet, egestion rate and the composition and sinking rates of their fecal pellets. Deep-Sea Res II 59: 147-158. 

Other activities

External responsibilities:

Associate Editor, Marine Biology

Associate Editor, Polar Biology

Current Guest editor, Progress in Oceanography

Member of the ICES Working Group on Zooplankton Ecology

Member of NERC Peer review College