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Mr Andrew Mackey

Mr Andrew Mackey

Mr Andrew Mackey

Current Teaching

Undergraduate demonstrator for the School of Natural Sciences in:

  • Form and Function in Biology; and
  • Australia’s Physical Environment

Background / Employment History

My research background has focused around the structure and functioning of aquatic systems, in particular foodwebs which have been the basis of much of my research to date. My honours thesis looked at the trophic ecology of seabirds (around the Farne Islands, Northumberland, UK) and their use as indicators of ecological change. For my master’s thesis I was awarded funding to examine the effect of salmon farms on local fish and invertebrate communities (Loch Shiel, Lochaber, UK). My professional research experience includes working for the National Trust (UK) where I carried out further research into seabird ecology; and the British Antarctic Survey, where I studied the effect of a warming Southern Ocean (southwest Atlantic sector) on zooplankton distributions and their potential trophic effects.

Staff Qualifications

  • BSc Honours Zoology (2:1), University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK.
  • MSc Marine Biology, University of Wales, Bangor, UK.

Other qualifications

  • PADI Rescue Diver, 2011
  • Coxswains (R) commercial boating licence, 2011
  • Recreational Skippers Ticket, 2011
  • DAN Oxygen provider, Senior First Aid, 2011
  • Spatial analysis in ArcGIS (ESRI and BAS, UK), 2010

Professional Memberships

  • Australia Marine Sciences Association (AMSA)

Awards and Recognition

  • Lochaber Fisheries Trust Research Bursary (UK)
  • Endeavour International Postgraduate Research Scholarship

Research

Research Interests

  • Marine systems ecology
  • Ecological modelling
  • Stable isotope analysis in food-web ecology
  • Geographical Information Systems
  • Seabird ecology and their use as biological indicators

Current Research Areas

  • Stable isotope ecology of  temperate rocky reefs
  • Isotopic turnover rates in primary consumers
  • Foodweb modelling

Current Research

  • My PhD aims to determine the mechanisms that dictate the isotopic (carbon and nitrogen) signatures of organisms within temperate marine rocky reef foodwebs. From the physical and environmental factors that influence isotopic signatures in primary producers, to how these (often highly variable) values are incorporated up through to their consumers over space and time.

Recent Publications

Monographs

  • Mackey, A (2010). Rediscovering the Discovery. Planet Earth. Winter, p 8-9. www.nerc.ac.uk/publications/planetearth/2010/winter/
  • Mackey, A (2009). The effects of freshwater cage culture on the diet, growth and condition of brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) in Loch Shiel, Scotland (M.Sc thesis). Lochaber Fisheries Trust monitoring and research web page. www.lochaberfish.org.uk/monitoring-research.asp
  • Mackey, A and Owen, K. (2008). Seabird density, productivity and feeding ecology, Long Nanny Seabird Reserve, Northumberland, UK. National Trust annual report 2008.

Refereed Journal Articles

  • Mackey, A. P., A. Atkinson, S. L. Hill, P. Ward, N. J. Cunningham, N. M. Johnston, and E. J. Murphy. 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 Research Part II In Press, Accepted Manuscript. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967064511002177

Conference Papers

  • Mackey, A and Cunningham, N. J. (2010) Extending our knowledge into the past: The reanalysis of historic zooplankton catch data from the Discovery Investigations 1925-1951. 12th International Deep Sea Biology Symposium (DSBS). 7-11 June 2010. University of Iceland, Reykjavik. Oral presentation. Link to the Deep Sea Biology Symposium program: 12dsbs.hi.is
  • Mackey, A and Cunningham, N. J. (2010) Extending our knowledge into the past: The rescue and reanalysis of historic zooplankton catch data from the Discovery Investigations 1925-1951. International Polar Year Science Conference. 8-12 June 2010. Norway Conference Centre, Oslo. Poster presentation.