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David Hughes
Marine Biologist, Ecology Department
E-mail: djhu@sams.ac.uk
Scientific interests
Behaviour and community ecology of marine benthic invertebrates. I am interested in a wide range of invertebrate groups and have worked in a variety of ecosystems including Scottish sea lochs, Caribbean coral reefs and the deep North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Specific interests include:
- Deep-sea biology
- Bioturbation and animal-sediment interactions
- Ecology of sessile colonial invertebrates, particularly bryozoans
- Conservation and management of rare benthic species and communities in Scottish coastal waters
Current and recently-completed projects
- SAMS Northern Seas Programme Theme B: Carbon cycling at ocean margins, 2001-present, funded by NERC. My work focuses on the role of benthic biological communities in biogeochemical cycling along the Norwegian Sea margin from the Wyville Thomson Ridge to Svalbard.
- Strategic Environmental Assessment Area 7 (SEA7), 2005-present, funded by DTI/Geotek. Still photographic and video surveys of benthic megafaunal communities on offshore banks and seamounts in the northern Rockall Trough, west of Scotland.
- Special Protection and Local Action for Species and Habitats (SPLASH), 2004-06, funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. Growth rates, physiological tolerances and ecology of the reef-building polychaete Serpula vermicularis in Scottish sea lochs.
Teaching / supervising activities
UHI Millennium Institute BSc (Hons.) Marine Science:
- Module Leader for H2 Marine Resources and H4 Deep-Sea Ecosystems
- Lecturer for H2 Marine and Estuarine Systems, H3 Marine Zoology, H3 Marine Pollution
- Mark Shields, project title: Gradients in macrofaunal community structure and bioturbation in the Northern Seas region
- Richard Shucksmith, project title: Biological invasions: the role of biodiversity in determining community susceptibility to invasion
Recent publications
Gage, J.D., Hughes, D.J. & Gonzalez Vecino, J.-L., 2002. Sieve size influence in estimating biomass, abundance and diversity in samples of deep-sea macrobenthos. Marine Ecology Progress Series 225: 97-107.
Poloczanska, E.S., Hughes, D.J. & Burrows, M.T., 2004. Underwater television observations of Serpula vermicularis (L.) reefs and associated mobile fauna in Loch Creran, Scotland. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 61: 425-435.
Hughes, D.J. & Gage, J.D., 2004. Benthic metazoan biomass, community structure and bioturbation at three contrasting deep-water sites along the NW European continental margin. Progress in Oceanography 63: 29-55.
Hughes, D.J., Hatton, A.D. & Nickell, L.A., 2004. Do biogenic sulphur compounds in phytodetritus act as cues for deposit-feeder activity? Field experiments and observations on the echiuran worm Maxmuelleria lankesteri. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 313: 175-189.
Hughes, D.J., Brown, L., Cook, G.T., Cowie, G., Gage, J.D., Good, E., Kennedy, H., MacKenzie, A.B., Papadimitriou, S., Shimmield, G.B., Thomson, J. & Williams, M., 2005. The effects of megafaunal burrows on radiotracer profiles and organic composition in deep-sea sediments: preliminary observations from two sites in the bathyal north-east Atlantic. Deep-Sea Research I 52: 1-13.
Hughes, D.J., Cook, E.J. & Sayer, M.D.J., 2005. Biofiltration and biofouling on artificial structures in Europe: the potential for mitigating organic impacts. Oceanography and Marine Biology Annual Review 43: 123-172.
Poloczanska, E.S., Hughes, D.J. & Burrows, M.T., 2004. Underwater television observations of Serpula vermicularis (L.) reefs and associated mobile fauna in Loch Creran, Scotland. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 61: 425-435.
Hughes, D.J. & Gage, J.D., 2004. Benthic metazoan biomass, community structure and bioturbation at three contrasting deep-water sites along the NW European continental margin. Progress in Oceanography 63: 29-55.
Hughes, D.J., Hatton, A.D. & Nickell, L.A., 2004. Do biogenic sulphur compounds in phytodetritus act as cues for deposit-feeder activity? Field experiments and observations on the echiuran worm Maxmuelleria lankesteri. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 313: 175-189.
Hughes, D.J., Brown, L., Cook, G.T., Cowie, G., Gage, J.D., Good, E., Kennedy, H., MacKenzie, A.B., Papadimitriou, S., Shimmield, G.B., Thomson, J. & Williams, M., 2005. The effects of megafaunal burrows on radiotracer profiles and organic composition in deep-sea sediments: preliminary observations from two sites in the bathyal north-east Atlantic. Deep-Sea Research I 52: 1-13.
Hughes, D.J., Cook, E.J. & Sayer, M.D.J., 2005. Biofiltration and biofouling on artificial structures in Europe: the potential for mitigating organic impacts. Oceanography and Marine Biology Annual Review 43: 123-172.
Hughes, D.J. & Crawford, M., 2006. A new record of the vestimentiferan Lamellibrachia sp. (Polychaeta: Siboglinidae) from a deep shipwreck in the eastern Mediterranean. JMBA2 Biodiversity Records http://www/mba.ac.uk/jmba/jmba2biodiversityrecords.php?5198
Hughes, D.J., Poloczanska, E.S. & Dodd, J., in press. Survivorship and tube growth of reef-building Serpula vermicularis (Polychaeta: Serpulidae) in two Scottish sea lochs. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems.
Hughes, D.J., Poloczanska, E.S. & Dodd, J., in press. Survivorship and tube growth of reef-building Serpula vermicularis (Polychaeta: Serpulidae) in two Scottish sea lochs. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems.
Educational and career history
- BSc. (Hons.) Zoology, University of Reading, 1979-82
- PhD, University of Wales, Bangor, 1982-86. Thesis title: Experimental study of growth and reproduction in marine bryozoans
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama, 1987-88
- Higher Scientific Officer, Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory, Oban, 1990-94
- Assistant Project Officer, Scottish Natural Heritage, June-September 1994
- Research Associate, Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban, 1995-present
Other
- Regular reviewer of manuscripts for major international journals including Deep-Sea Research, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK.
- Participant in 5 major oceanographic research cruises since 1998, to north-east Atlantic and Arctic Oceans
- Active scuba diver with > 1000 dives logged. Highly-experienced scientific research diver at SAMS
- SAMS Local Welfare Officer