Dr Debbie JF Russell
Principal Research Fellow
Research areas
Debbie is a quantitative marine ecologist with a particular interest in the interactions between marine predators and their natural versus anthropogenic environment. She is based at SMRU where the focus of her research can be split into two inter-linked components (1) Conduct, manage and communicate research that is required to inform sustainable management of UK seal populations, and to fulfil national and international conservation legislation (see SCOS) (2) Gain critical insight into emerging conservation and management issues through external funding for projects which provide understanding of the drivers of marine predator behaviour, distribution and population dynamics.
Key research areas (see Group for more)
- Estimation of seal abundance and trends on land, and drivers therein
- Estimation of seal distribution at-sea, and drivers therein
- Using a mixture of Bayesian and frequentist methods to analyse harbour and grey seal telemetry data to answer both pure and applied research questions.
- Investigation of the impact of anthropogenic structures, their construction, operation and decommisioning, on marine predators. EcoSTAR project
Current Group
- Post Docs
- Matt Carter (2018-), various projects including EcoSTAR
- Janneke Ransijn (2022-), EcoSTAR project
- PhD students
- Lauren Arkoosh, Seals as sentinels of antimicrobial resistance: mapping antimicrobial resistance genes in UK waters (based at University of Abertay)
- Izzy Langley, Inter-specific Interactions: investigating the role of grey seals in the harbour seal decline.
- Hannah Wyles, Climate Change and the seal community of the United Kingdom
- Maria Iruzuns Martins, Examining the human-predator interface of the North Sea
Alumni
- Post doc
- Claire Lacey, EcoSTAR project
- James Grecian, Man-made structures and Apex Predators: Spatial interactions and overlap
- PhD students
- Katherine Whyte (2021), Behavioural responses by seals to offshore energy activities
- J Chris McKnight (2018). Counting the Cost of Tagging: Quantifying and Reducing the Behavioural and Energetic Impacts of Tags in a Large Marine Vertebrate.
- Matt Carter (2018). From pup to predator: Ontogeny of foraging behaviour in grey seal pups
- Masters
- Ines Khazar, Spatial bias in the diet of grey seals in the North Sea
- Philippa Harkness, Redefining Central Placed Foraging - analysis of extended surface periods during foraging trips on haul out behaviour of grey seals.
- Meg Withers, The Environmental Conditions Associated with Grey Seal Pup Production Variation in the UK
- Hannah Wyles, A novel method for classifying habitat use by grey seals using seabed geomorphology.
- Lauren Himmelreich, What can rehabilitation seals tell us about wild populations?
- Sara Young, Potential Effects of Captivity on Dive Behaviour and Movement Patterns of Juvenile Grey Seals
- Raquel Soley Calvet, Living among giants: Habitat modelling of Harbour porpoise in the Northern Gulf of St. Lawrence
- J Chris McKnight, Short-term effects of capture and tag attachment in common seals.
Teaching – current and past
- 2nd year interdisciplinary module "Science Methods"
- Marine Mammal Science Masters
- Quantitative Methods for Ecology
- Research Methods in Marine Mammal Science
PhD supervision
- Hannah Wyles
- James Harris
- Maria Clara Iruzun Martins
- Mia Goldman
- Izzy Langley
- Jacqueline Glencross
Selected publications
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Open access
Developing expert scientific consensus on the environmental and societal effects of marine artificial structures prior to decommissioning
Knights, A. M., Lemasson, A. J., Firth, L. B., Bond, T., Claisse, J., Coolen, J. W. P., Copping, A., Dannheim, J., De Dominicis, M., Degraer, S., Elliott, M., Fernandes, P. G., Fowler, A. M., Frost, M., Henry, L-A., Hicks, N., Hyder, K., Jagerroos, S., Jones, D. O. B., Love, M., & 19 others , Feb 2024, In: Journal of Environmental Management. 352, 16 p., 119897.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Fitness correlates of blubber oxidative stress and cellular defences in grey seals (Halichoerus grypus): support for the life history-oxidative stress theory from an animal model of simultaneous lactation and fasting
Armstrong, H. C., Russell, D. JF., Moss, S., Pomeroy, P. & Bennett, K. A., 1 Sept 2023, In: Cell Stress and Chaperones. 28, 5, p. 551-566 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Offshore energy structures in the North Sea: past, present and future
Martins, M. C. I., Carter, M. ID., Rouse, S. & Russell, D. JF., 1 Jun 2023, In: Marine Policy. 152, 10 p., 105629.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Population structure and genetic connectivity reveals distinctiveness of Irish harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) and implications for conservation management
Steinmetz, K., Murphy, S., Cadhla, O. Ó., Carroll, E. L., Onoufriou, A. B., Russell, D. J. F., Cronin, M. & Mirimin, L., 1 Feb 2023, In: Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. 33, 2, p. 160-178 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
A novel approach to using seabed geomorphology as a predictor of habitat use in highly mobile marine predators: implications for ecology and conservation
Wyles, H. M. E., Boehme, L., Russell, D. JF. & Carter, M. I. D., 19 Apr 2022, In: Frontiers in Marine Science. 16 p., 818635.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Influence of offshore oil and gas structures on seascape ecological connectivity
McLean, D. L., Ferreira, L. C., Benthuysen, J. A., Miller, K. J., Schlappy, M-L., Ajemian, M. J., Berry, O., Birchenough, S. N. R., Bond, T., Boschetti, F., Bull, A. S., Claisse, J. T., Condie, S. A., Consoli, P., Coolen, J. W. P., Elliott, M., Fortune, I. S., Fowler, A. M., Gillanders, B. M., Harrison, H. B., & 26 others , 1 Jun 2022, In: Global Change Biology. 28, 11, p. 3515-3536 22 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
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Open access
Sympatric seals, satellite tracking and protected areas: habitat-based distribution estimates for conservation and management
Carter, M. I. D., Boehme, L., Cronin, M. A., Duck, C. D., Grecian, W. J., Hastie, G. D., Jessopp, M., Matthiopoulos, J., McConnell, B. J., Miller, D. L., Morris, C. D., Moss, S. E. W., Thompson, D., Thompson, P. M. & Russell, D. J. F., 20 Jun 2022, In: Frontiers in Marine Science. 9, 18 p., 875869.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Acoustic risk balancing by marine mammals: anthropogenic noise can influence the foraging decisions by seals
Hastie, G. D., Lepper, P., McKnight, C., Milne, R., Russell, D. JF. & Thompson, D., 5 Jul 2021, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal of Applied Ecology. Early View, 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) presence is reduced during tidal turbine operation
Palmer, L. E., Gillespie, D. M., MacAulay, J. D. J., Sparling, C. E., Russell, D. JF. & Hastie, G. D., Dec 2021, In: Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. 31, 12, p. 3543-3553 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Marine mammal conservation: over the horizon
Nelms, S. E., Alfaro-Shigueto, J., Arnould, J. P. Y., Avila, I. C., Bengtson Nash, S., Campbell, E., Carter, M. I. D., Collins, T., Currey, R. J. C., Domit, C., Franco-Trecu, V., Fuentes, M. M. P. B., Gilman, E., Harcourt, R. G., Hines, E. M., Hoelzel, A. R., Hooker, S. K., Johnston, D. W., Kelkar, N., Kiszka, J. J., & 16 others , 25 Mar 2021, In: Endangered Species Research. 44, p. 291-325 35 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review