Kimberley Bennett

Dr Kimberley Bennett - ()

Job title: Lecturer in Marine Biology, School of Marine Science and Engineering (Faculty of Science and Technology)
Postal address: B425, 22 Portland Square, Drake Circus,
Plymouth, Devon, PL4 8AA
Email: kimberley.bennett@plymouth.ac.uk

Role
Lecturer in marine biology

Research interests
Seals have high levels of body fat and fasting blood glucose and exhibit insulin resistance that varies depending on their nutritional state (eg. fasting and lactation), yet remain healthy. I am interested in how these animals regulate storage and use of metabolic fuel sources, and the similarities and differences between seals and the development of obesity and diabetes in humans. I am also interested in how they withstand the natural (fasting, pressure change, hypoxia etc) and man-made (pollutants, disturbance etc) stressors that they encounter on a dive –by dive, daily or seasonal basis, and the links between susceptibility/ resilience and body condition.

Publications

Papers/ proceedings published

Hammond, J.A., HautonC., Bennett, K.A. and Hall A.J. (2012) Phocid seal leptin: tertiary structure and hydrophobic receptor binding site preservation during distinct leptin gene evolution. PLoS One 7: e35395. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0035395

Bennett, K. A., Moss, S.E.W., Pomeroy, P.P., Speakman, J. R. and Fedak, M. A. (2011) Effects of handling regime and sex on changes in cortisol, thyroid hormones and body mass in fasting grey seal pups. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. A 161: 69-76. DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2011.09.003

Bennett, K.A.,

Forsyth, L. and Burchell, A. (2011) Functional analysis of the 5’ flanking region of the human G6PC3 gene: regulation of promoter activity by glucose, pyruvate, AMP kinase and the pentose phosphate pathway. Mol. Genetics Metab. 103: 254-261.

Bennett, K. A., McConnell, B. J., Moss, S. E.W., Pomeroy, P.P., Speakman, J.R. and Fedak, M. (2010) Effect of age and body mass on the development of diving capabilities of grey seal pups: costs and benefits of the postweaning fast. Physiol. Biochem. Zool. 83: 911-923.

A.J. Hall, K.A. Bennett and J.A. Hammond (2009) Evolution of the blood–gas barrier in diving mammals. In: S.F. Perry, S. Morris, T. Breuer, N. Pajor and M. Lambertz, Editors, 2nd International Congress of Respiratory Science, Tharax Verlag, Hildesheim, Berlin, pp. 87–88.

Bennett, K. A., Speakman, J. R., Moss, S.E.W., Pomeroy, P.P. and Fedak, M. A. (2007) Effects of mass and body composition on fasting fuel utilisation in grey seal pups (Halichoerus grypus; Fabricius): an experimental study using supplementary feeding. J. Exp. Biol. 210: 3043-3053.

Hammond, J., Bennett, K. A., Walton, M. and Hall, A.J. (2005) Molecular cloning and expression of leptin in grey and harbor seal blubber, bone marrow and lung and its potential role in marine mammal respiratory physiology Am. J. Physiol. 289: R545-R553.

McCafferty, D., Moss, S., Bennett, K. A., Pomeroy, P.P. (2005) Factors influencing the radiative surface temperature of grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) pups during early and late lactation. J. Comp. Physiol. B. 175: 423-431.

Bennett, K. A., McConnell, B. J. and Fedak, M. (2001). Diurnal and seasonal variations in the duration and depth of the longest dives in southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina): possible physiological and behavioural constraints. J. Exp. Biol. 204: 649-662.

Papers and Chapters in Press

Bennett, K.A. and Burchell, A. von Gierke Disease In Brenner’s Online Encyclopedia of Genetics, 2^nd Edition. Elsevier. (accepted July 2010; due for publication 2012).