- Room 108, Marine Station, Artillery Place , Plymouth, PL4 0LU
- +44 1752 584589
- keiron.fraser@plymouth.ac.uk
Profiles
Dr Keiron Fraser
Lecturer in Marine Conservation and Academic Dive Manager
School of Biological and Marine Sciences (Faculty of Science and Engineering)
Biography
Biography
As a Lecturer in Marine Conservation and the Academic Diving Manager, as well as the University Diving Officer, I am responsible for managing all diving carried out by staff and students at the University of Plymouth, excluding diving carried out by the Student Union SCUBA Society. My remit includes diving carried out on the HSE SCUBA courses run by the University, the Scientific Diving module (OS207), diving on student placements and student dissertations and diving by staff to collect samples, or gather data for their research. My responsibilities extend to diving both in the UK and overseas.
In addition I am the academic module leader for a Scientific Diving module (OS207), teach on the Ocean Science and Marine Conservation Field Course (OS313) and Fish and Fisheries (MBIO363) and act as an adviser to BSc, Masters and PhD Students.
I also work with the National Geographic Pristine Seas Programme as an Expedition Leader and scientist.
Qualifications
BSc Marine Biology/Zoology - Bangor University 1994
PhD - University of Aberdeen 1998
After completing my PhD, I worked for the British Antarctic Survey from 1998-2008 as a Marine Eco-physiologist. During this time I worked in the Antarctic and Arctic and have dived extensively in the Antarctic and at South Georgia. After leaving the British Antarctic Survey I worked for the Government of South Georgia for 6 years as a Government Officer managing fisheries and tourism and as the Operations Manager overseeing fisheries management, fisheries patrolling and the management of large scale environmental projects. While based in the Falkland Islands I dived with the Shallow Marine Survey group in many areas of the archipelago.
I have dived professionally for 24 years and recreationally for 31 years.
Professional membership
Porcupine Marine Natural History Society
Marine Biological Association
Roles on external bodies
Member
BSI and ISO Committees for the standardisation of scientific diver training
Scientific Diving Sub-Committee (SDSC) of the Health and Safety Executive
Port of Plymouth Liaison Committee (PPLC) member
Teaching
Teaching
Teaching interests
HSE Professional SCUBA training with an emphasis on teaching diving scientists.
Animal ecophysiology and in particular the field-based measurement of physiological function in organisms.
Fish and fisheries management.
Marine conservation.
Research
Research
Research interests
The application of scientific diving to carry out subsea research.
Marine ectotherm ecophysiology, in particular protein metabolism and seasonality.
Temperate sea grass ecology.
Benthic ecology.
SCUBA based measurement of biodiversity.
Seasonality in the marine environment.
Research degrees awarded to supervised students
PhDs
Alvarez-Cienfuegos, I. (in progress). Factors controlling protein metabolism and growth in the intertidal limpet Patella vulgata. UoP funded
Truebano, M. (2010). Thermal stress in the Antarctic clam Laternula and temperate mussel Mytilus edulis: European Science Foundation PolarCLIMATE
Smale, D. (2007). The influence of ice disturbance on nearshore benthic communities at Adelaide Island, Antarctica: Daniel Smale (2007). Open University
Bowgen, A. (2005). Low temperature protein metabolism: the energetic costs of living and growing at thermal extremes: NERC PhD Studentship
MSc/MRes
Clarke, E. (2021). Does the non-native invasive Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas enhance or degrade benthic biodiversity
de Natale, C (2021). Comparison of survey techniques for habitat characterization in shallow, structured habitats: A measurement of survey effort for habitat characterization in coastal waters
Blackman, C (2020). Plymouth Sound and estuaries Special Area of Conservation: Analysis of change in subtidal Reef communities over time 1998-2019.
Gilkinson, C. (2020). The effect of biotic and abiotic conditions on the distribution of Mediterranean seagrass.
Baker, J. (2019). A short-term trial of the recovery of a seagrass meadow in a commercially important location after the installation of Stirling-Advanced moorings.
Grants & contracts
Government of Malta - Consultancy
Publications
Publications
Key publications
Key publications are highlighted
JournalsFraser, K.P.P., Peck, L.S., Clark, M.S., Clarke, A., Hill, S.L. (2022). Life in the freezer: protein metabolism in Antarctic fish. Royal Society Open Science 9, 211272.
Articles
(2022) 'Life in the freezer: protein metabolism in Antarctic fish' Royal Society Open Science 9, (3) , DOI Open access
(2012) 'Comparative phylogeography of three trematomid fishes reveals contrasting genetic structure patterns in benthic and pelagic species' Marine Genomics 8, 23-34 , DOI
(2008) 'Seasonal variation in the white muscle biochemical composition of deep-sea macrourids in the North-east Atlantic' Marine Biology 155, (1) 37-49 , DOI
(2008) 'Marine richness and gradients at Deception Island, Antarctica' Antarctic Science 20, (3) 271-280 , DOI
(2008) 'Lack of an HSP70 heat shock response in two Antarctic marine invertebrates' Polar Biology 31, (9) 1059-1065 , DOI
(2008) 'Benthic community response to iceberg scouring at an intensely disturbed shallow water site at Adelaide Island, Antarctica' Marine Ecology Progress Series 355, 85-94 , DOI
(2008) 'Antarctic marine molluscs do have an HSP70 heat shock response' Cell Stress and Chaperones 13, (1) 39-49 , DOI
(2008) 'Low heat shock thresholds in wild Antarctic inter-tidal limpets (Nacella concinna)' Cell Stress and Chaperones 13, (1) 51-58 , DOI
(2007) 'The influence of ice scour on benthic communities at three contrasting sites at Adelaide Island, Antarctica' Austral Ecology 32, (8) 878-888 , DOI
(2007) 'Scavenging in Antarctica: Intense variation between sites and seasons in shallow benthic necrophagy' Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 349, (2) 405-417 , DOI
(2007) 'Life in the fast lane: The free-ranging activity, heart rate and metabolism of an Antarctic fish tracked in temperate waters' Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 349, (1) 142-151 , DOI
(2007) 'The HSP70 heat shock response in the Antarctic fish Harpagifer antarcticus' Polar Biology 31, (2) 171-180 , DOI
(2007) 'Growth in the slow lane: protein metabolism in the Antarctic limpet<i>Nacella concinna</i>(Strebel 1908)' Journal of Experimental Biology 210, (15) 2691-2699 , DOI
(2007) 'Energetic cost of synthesizing proteins in Antarctic limpet, <i>Nacella concinna</i> (Strebel, 1908), is not temperature dependent' American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 292, (6) R2266-R2274 , DOI
(2005) 'Shallow benthic fauna communities of South Georgia Island' Polar Biology 29, (3) 223-228 , DOI
(2004) 'Links between the structure of an Antarctic shallow-water community and ice-scour frequency' Oecologia 141, (1) 121-129 , DOI
(2004) 'Protein Synthesis, RNA Concentrations, Nitrogen Excretion, and Metabolism Vary Seasonally in the Antarctic Holothurian<i>Heterocucumis steineni</i>(Ludwig 1898)' Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 77, (4) 556-569 , DOI
(2003) 'Rafting by five phyla on man-made flotsam in the Southern Ocean' Marine Ecology Progress Series 262, 289-291 , DOI
(2002) 'Low-temperature protein metabolism: seasonal changes in protein synthesis and RNA dynamics in the Antarctic limpet <i>Nacella concinna</i> Strebel 1908' Journal of Experimental Biology 205, (19) 3077-3086 , DOI
(2002) 'Feast and famine in Antarctica: seasonal physiology in the limpet Nacella concinna' Marine Ecology Progress Series 242, 169-177 , DOI
(2001) 'Complete suppression of protein synthesis during anoxia with no post-anoxia protein synthesis debt in the red-eared slider turtle<i>Trachemys scripta elegans</i>' Journal of Experimental Biology 204, (24) 4353-4360 , DOI
Chapters
(2007) 'Protein Metabolism in Marine Animals: The Underlying Mechanism of Growth' Advances in Marine Biology Elsevier 267-362 , DOI
Personal
Personal
Reports & invited lectures
University of Plymouth training framework for scientific diving: Health and Safety (HSE) SCUBA qualification - European Science Diver Online Workshop Dec 2020