Staff Profile

I am an ecologist with experience using field research, experimental studies and modelling techniques. I research the structure and dynamics of complex systems with particular emphasis on how microbes and metazoans interact with one another and their environment. This allows me to analyse how perturbations to resource quality, energy flow, immune system and health status influence homeostasis, stability, productivity and functionality in human, animal or community level systems. My interests encompass a range of scales from the molecular to ecosystem level but I always try to tackle any scientific problem from an ecological perspective. I undertake interdisciplinary research working closely with immunologists, microbiologists, biogeochemists, clinicians and ecologists.

Orcid ID: 0000-0003-0190-0425

Researcher ID: J-8528-2013

Qualifications

2012 PhD Trophodynamics on Mid-Ocean Ridges: spatial patterns in macro-consumers of the Mid-Atlantic and East Scotia Ridges, Newcastle University

2003 MSc Oceanography, University of Southampton

2002 BSc (Hons) Marine Biology, University of Aberdeen

Memberships

British Ecological Society

I have 2 main areas where my research is currently focused.

Marine trophodynamics and benthic processes

I have strong background in marine science, especially in polar and deep sea systems, examining trophic interactions and benthic processes. This has been built through working with British Antarctic Survey and undertaking research on various deep-sea habitats including hydrothermal vents, seamounts, mid-ocean ridges and continental slopes. I use a series of biochemical techniques to elucidate trophodynamics and understand carbon and nitrogen cycling including lipid analysis, stable isotope analysis and compound-specific stable isotope analysis. I also have experience of undertaking trace metal analysis in animal tissues.

My current projects include:

• Elucidating trophic structure at hydrothermal vents and seep habitats
• Understanding food sources sustaining Antarctic benthic fauna
• Trace metal composition in deep-sea megafauna

Microbial community dynamics

I am also interested in researching microbial community dynamics in various habitats including hospitalised patients, deposit feeders and chicken guts and marine sediments. This focuses around the physiological (e.g. immune response) and ecological (e.g. resource availability, competition) processes shape microbial communities. I do this using an array of modelling techniques including structural equation modelling; multivariate community analysis; linear hierarchical models; and Bayesian techniques. The research has broad applicability at an applied level for human and animal welfare and development of vaccinations for sustainable food production and a theoretical level through developing a systematic understanding of pathogen-host interactions, epidemiology and microbial roles in biogeochemical cycling.

My current projects include:

• Understanding the impact of Campylobacter and stress on the microbial communities living in the broiler chicken’s gastrointestinal tract.

I teach across the marine science programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. My teaching covers various aspects of ecology, environmental sciences and marine geology as well as environmental survey design.

• Articles

  • Almond PM, Linse K, Dreutter S, Grant SM, Griffiths HJ, Whittle RJ, Mackenzie M, Reid WDK. In-situ Image Analysis of Habitat Heterogeneity and Benthic Biodiversity in the Prince Gustav Channel, Eastern Antarctic Peninsula. Frontiers in Marine Science 2021, 8, 614496.
  • Weston JNJ, Espinosa-Leal L, Wainwright JA, Stewart ECD, Gonzalez CE, Linley TD, Reid WDK, Hidalgo P, Oliva ME, Ulloda O, Wenzhofer F, Glud RN, Escribano R, Jamieson AJ. Eurythenes atacamensis sp. nov. (Crustacea: Amphipoda) exhibits ontogenetic vertical stratification across abyssal and hadal depths in the Atacama Trench, eastern South Pacific Ocean. Marine Biodiversity 2021, 51, 51.
  • Reid WDK, Wigham BD, Marsh L, Weston JNJ, Zhu Y, Copley JT. Trophodynamics at the Longqi hydrothermal vent field and comparison with the East Scotia and Central Indian Ridges. Marine Biology 2020, 167(10), 141.
  • Weston JNJ, Carrillo-Barragan P, Linley TD, Reid WDK, Jamieson AJ. New species of Eurythenes from hadal depths of the Mariana Trench, Pacific Ocean (Crustacea: Amphipoda). Zootaxa 2020, 4748(1), 163–181.
  • Ji W, Yokoyama H, Reid WDK, Fu J, Zhou J. Trophic ecology of Penaeus chinensis (Decapoda: Dendrobranchiata: Penaeidae) and potential competitive interactions with other species in the Haizhou Bay determined by carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis. Regional Studies in Marine Science 2019, 32, 100842.
  • Rushton SP, Sanderson RA, Reid WDK, Shirley MDF, Harris JP, Hunter PR, O'Brien SJ. Transmission routes of rare seasonal diseases: the case of norovirus infections. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2019, 374(1776), 20180267.
  • Chapman A, Beaulieu S, Colaco A, Gebruk A, Hilario A, Kihara T, Ramirez-Llodra E, Sarrazin J, Tunnicliffe V, Amon D, Baker M, Boschen-Rose R, Chen C, Cooper I, Copley J, Corbari L, Cordes E, Cuvelier D, Duperron S, DuPreez C, Gollner S, Horton T, Hourdez S, Krylova E, Linse K, LokaBharathi PA, Marsh L, Matabos M, Mills S, Mullineaux L, Rapp HT, Reid WDK, Rybakova E, Thomas T, Southgate S, Stohr S, Turner P, Watanabe H, Yasuhara M, Bates A. sFDvent: a global trait database for deep-sea hydrothermal-vent fauna. Global Ecology and Biogeography 2019, 28, 1538-1551.
  • Jamieson AJ, Brooks LSR, Reid WDK, Piertney SB, Narayanaswamy BE, Linley TD. Microplastics and synthetic particles ingested by deep-sea amphipods in six of the deepest marine ecosystems on Earth. Royal Society Open Science 2019, 6(2), 180667.
  • Rios MF, Venerus LA, Karachle PK, Reid WDK, Erzini K, Stergiou KI, Galvan DE. Linking size-based trophodynamics and morphological traits in marine fishes. Fish and Fisheries 2019, 20(2), 355-367.
  • Zhu Y, Newman SP, Reid WDK, Polunin NVC. Fish stable-isotope community structure of a Bahamian coral reef. Marine Biology 2019, 166(12), 160.
  • Linse K, Copley J, Connelly DP, Larter RD, Pearce DA, Polunin NVC, Rogers AD, Chen C, Clarke A, Glover A, Graham ACC, Huvenne VAI, Marsh L, Reid WDK, Roterman CN, Sweeting CJ, Zwirglmaier K, Tyler PA. Fauna of the Kemp Caldera and its upper bathyal hydrothermal vents (South Sandwich Arc, Antarctica). Royal Society Open Science 2019, 6(11), 191501.
  • Rushton SP, Sanderson RA, Diggle PJ, Shirley MDF, Blain AP, Lake I, Maas JA, Reid WDK, Hardstaff J, Williams N, Jones NR, Rigby D, Stachan NJC, Forbes KJ, Hunter PR, Humphrey TJ, O'Brien SJ. Climate, human behaviour or environment: individual-based modelling of Campylobacter seasonality and strategies to reduce disease burden. Journal of Translational Medicine 2019, 17, 34.
  • Ewan VC, Reid WDK, Shirley M, Simpson AJ, Rushton SP, Wade W. Oropharyngeal microbiota in frail older patients unaffected by time in hospital. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology 2018, 8, 42.
  • Reid WDK, Cuomo NJ, Jamieson AJ. Geographic and bathymetric comparisons of trace metal concentrations (Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn) in deep-sea Lysianassoid amphipods from abyssal and hadal depths across the Pacific Ocean. Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 2018, 138, 11-21.
  • Bell JB, Reid WDK, Pearce DA, Glover AG, Sweeting CJ, Newton J, Woulds C. Hydrothermal activity lowers trophic diversity in Antarctic hydrothermal sediments. Biogeosciences 2017, 14, 5705-5725.
  • Antwis RE, Griffiths SM, Harrison XA, Aranega-Bou P, Arce A, Bettridge AS, Brailsford FL, deMenezes A, Devaynes A, Forbes KM, Fry EL, Goodhead I, Haskell E, Heys C, James C, Johnston SR, Lewis GR, Lewis Z, Macey MC, McCarthy A, McDonald JE, Florez NLM, O'Brien D, Orland C, Pautasso M, Reid WDK, Robinson HA, Wilson K, Sutherland WJ. Fifty important research questions in microbial ecology. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 2017, 93(5), 1-10.
  • Lacharme-Lora L, Chaloner G, Gilroy R, Humphrey S, Gibbs K, Jopson S, Wright E, Reid W, Ketley J, Humphrey T, Williams N, Rushton S, Wigley P. B lymphocytes play a limited role in clearance of Campylobacter jejuni from the chicken intestinal tract. Scientific Reports 2017, 7, 45090.
  • Bell JB, Woulds C, Brown LE, Sweeting CJ, Reid WDK, Little CTS, Glover AG. Macrofaunal Ecology of Sedimented Hydrothermal Vents in the Bransfield Strait, Antarctica. Frontiers in Marine Science 2016, 3, 32.
  • Reid WDK, Sweeting CJ, Wigham BD, McGill RAR, Polunin NVC. Isotopic niche variability in macroconsumers of the East Scotia Ridge (Southern Ocean) hydrothermal vents: What more can we learn from an ellipse?. Marine Ecology Progress Series 2016, 542, 13-24.
  • Bell JB, Aquilina A, Woulds C, Glover AG, Little CTS, Reid WDK, Hepburn LE, Newton J, Mills RA. Geochemistry, faunal composition and trophic structuring in reducing sediments on the southwest South Georgia margin. Royal Society Open Science 2016, 3, 160284.
  • Copley JT, Marsh L, Glover AG, Huhnerbach V, Nye VE, Reid WDK, Sweeting CJ, Wigham BD, Wiklund H. Ecology and biogeography of megafauna and macrofauna at the first known deep-sea hydrothermal vents on the ultraslow-spreading Southwest Indian Ridge. Scientific Reports 2016, 6, 39158.
  • Reid WDK, Close AJ, Humphrey S, Chaloner G, Lacharme-Lora L, Rothwell L, Kaiser P, Williams NJ, Humphrey TJ, Wigley P, Rushton SP. Cytokine responses in birds challenged with the human food-borne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni implies a Th17 response. Royal Society Open Science 2016, 3, 150541.
  • Zwirglmaier Z, Reid WDK, Heywood J, Sweeting CJ, Wigham BD, Polunin NVC, Hawkes JA, Connelly DP, Pearce D, Linse K. Linking regional variation of epibiotic bacterial diversity and trophic ecology in a new species of Kiwaidae (Decapoda, Anomura) from East Scotia Ridge (Antarctica) hydrothermal vents. MicrobiologyOpen 2015, 4(1), 136-150.
  • Reid WDK, Sweeting CJ, Wigham BD, Zwirglmaier K, Hawkes JA, McGill RAR, Linse KL, Polunin NVC. Spatial Differences in East Scotia Ridge Hydrothermal Vent Food Webs: Influences of Chemistry, Microbiologyand Predation on Trophodynamics. PLoS One 2013, 8(6), e65553.
  • Reid WDK, Sweeting CJ, Wigham BD, McGill RAR, Polunin NVC. High variability in spatial and temporal size-based trophodynamics of deep-sea fishes from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge elucidated by stable isotopes. Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 2013, 98(Part B), 412-420.
  • Jones DOB, Alt CHS, Priede IG, Reid WDK, Wigham BD, Billett DSM, Gebruk AV, Rogacheva A, Gooday AJ. Deep-sea surface-dwelling enteropneusts from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: Their ecology, distribution and mode of life. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 2013, 98(B), 374-387.
  • Letessier TB, Pond DW, McGill RAR, Reid WDK, Brierley AS. Trophic interaction of invertebrate zooplankton on either side of the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone/Subpolar Front of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Journal of Marine Systems 2012, 94, 174-184.
  • Rogers AD, Tyler PA, Connelly DP, Copley JT, James R, Larter RD, Linse K, Mills RA, Garabato AN, Pancost RD, Pearce DA, Polunin NVC, German CR, Shank T, Boersch-Supan PH, Alker BJ, Aquilina A, Bennett SA, Clarke A, Dinley RJJ, Graham AGC, Green DRH, Hawkes JA, Hepburn L, Hilario A, Huvenne VAI, Marsh L, Ramirez-Llodra E, Reid WDK, Roterman CN, Sweeting CJ, Thatje S, Zwirglmaier K. The Discovery of New Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Communities in the Southern Ocean and Implications for Biogeography. PLoS Biology 2012, 10(1), e1001234.
  • Marsh L, Copley JT, Huvenne VAI, Linse K, Reid WDK, Rogers AD, Sweeting CJ, Tyler PA. Microdistribution of Faunal Assemblages at Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents in the Southern Ocean. PLoS One 2012, 7(10), e48348.
  • Reid WDK, Wigham BD, McGill RAR, Polunin NVC. Elucidating trophic pathways in benthic deep-sea assemblages of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge north and south of the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone. Marine Ecology Progress Series 2012, 463, 89-103.
  • Galvan DE, Sweeting CJ, Reid WDK. Power of stable isotope techniques to detect size-based feeding in marine fishes. Marine Ecology Progress Series 2010, 407, 271-278.
  • Billett DSM, Bett BJ, Reid WDK, Boorman B, Priede IG. Long-term change in the abyssal NE Atlantic: The ‘Amperima Event’ revisited. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 2010, 57(15), 1406-1417.
  • Clarke S, Reid WDK, Collins MA, Belchier M. Biology and distribution of South Georgia icefish (Pseudochaenichthys georgianus) around South Georgia and Shag Rocks. Antarctic Science 2008, 20(4), 343-353.
  • Reid WDK, Watts J, Clarke S, Belchier M, Thatje S. Egg development, hatching rhythm and moult patterns in Paralomis spinosissima (Decapoda: Anomura: Paguroidea: Lithodidae) from South Georgia waters (Southern Ocean). Polar Biology 2007, 30(9), 1213-1218.
  • Reid WDK, Clarke S, Collins MA, Belchier M. Distribution and ecology of Chaenocephalus aceratus (Channichthyidae) around South Georgia and Shag Rocks (Southern Ocean). Polar Biology 2007, 30(12), 1523-1533.
  • Ramierz-Llodra E, Reid WDK, Billett DSM. Long-term changes in reproductive patterns of the holothurian Oneirophanta mutabilis from the Porcupine Abyssal Plain. Marine Biology 2005, 146, 683-693.