Research areas
My research focuses on biomineralisation. In particular I study how organisms form CaCO3 biominerals, what the chemistry of these minerals can tell us about past environments and how biomineral formation will be affected by climate and environmental change.
Calcium carbonates are formed by a range of important marine organisms including corals, molluscs and foraminifera. These calcareous structures provide tissue support and protection and serve to provide habitat spaces for other organisms e.g. coral reefs. I maintain an aquaria system to culture marine organisms under tightly controlled conditions to study the effects of rising seawater temperatures and atmospheric CO2 (ocean acidification) on biomineralisation processes. I also research how CaCO3 chemistry is affected by the environment conditions at the time of deposition and investigate how the chemistry of fossil carbonates e.g. ancient reefs, may record climatic information. These accurate records of past seawater temperatures are key to understanding past global climates and for validating models predicting 21st century climate change.
Biominerals are composite materials of both CaCO3 and organic matrices. I have built an apparatus to precipitate biominerals under the conditions analogous to those predicted to occur in organisms and my group is researching how organic materials e.g. amino acids and proteins affect biomineral formation.
Selected publications
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Open access
B(OH)4- and CO32- do not compete for incorporation into aragonite in synthetic precipitations at pHtotal 8.20 and 8.41 but do compete at pHtotal 8.59
Castillo Alvarez, M. C., Penkman, K., Kroger, R., Finch, A. A., Clog, M., Hathorne, E. & Allison, N., 15 Aug 2024, In: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 379, p. 39-52Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Insights into the response of coral biomineralisation to environmental change from aragonite precipitations in vitro
Castillo Alvarez, M. C., Penkman, K., Kröger, R., Finch, A. A., Clog, M., Brasier, A., Still, J. & Allison, N., 1 Jan 2024, In: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 364, p. 184-194 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
The influence of seawater pCO2 and temperature on the amino acid composition and aragonite CO3 disorder of coral skeletons
Allison, N., Ross, P., Castillo Alvarez, C., Penkman, K., Kröger, R., Kellock, C., Cole, C., Clog, M., Evans, D., Hintz, C., Hintz, K. & Finch, A. A., 14 Aug 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Coral Reefs. 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
A comparison of SNARF-1 and skeletal δ11B estimates of calcification media pH in tropical coral
Allison, N., Venn, A., Tambutte, S., Tambutte, E., Wilckens, F., Kasemann, S. & Edinburgh Ion Microprobe Facility (EIMF), 15 Aug 2023, In: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 355, p. 184-194 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Sterols, free fatty acids, and total fatty acid content in the massive Porites spp. corals cultured under different pCO2 and temperature treatments
von Xylander, N. S. H., Young, S., Cole, C. S., Smith, T. K. & Allison, N., 1 Apr 2023, In: Coral Reefs. 42, p. 551-566 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
The response of coral skeletal nano-structure and hardness to ocean acidification conditions
Tan, C. D., Haehner, G., Fitzer, S., Cole, C. S., Finch, A. A., Hintz, C. J., Hintz, K. & Allison, N., 2 Aug 2023, In: Royal Society Open Science. 10, 8, 15 p., 230248.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Effects of seawater pCO2 on the skeletal morphology of massive Porites spp. corals
Allison, N., Ross, P., Brasier, A., Cieminska, N., Lopez Martin, N., Cole, C., Hintz, C., Hintz, K. & Finch, A. A., 10 May 2022, In: Marine Biology. 169, 11 p., 73.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Optimising a method for aragonite precipitation in simulated biogenic calcification media
Kellock, C., Castillo Alvarez, M. C., Finch, A. A., Penkman, K., Kröger, R., Clog, M. & Allison, N., 2 Dec 2022, In: PLoS ONE. 17, 20, 18 p., e0278627.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
The combined effects of ocean acidification and copper on the physiological responses of the tropical coral Stylophora pistillata
Cryer, S., Schlosser, C. & Allison, N., Apr 2022, In: Marine Environmental Research. 176, 105610.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Pilot study to investigate the effect of long-term exposure to high pCO2 on adult cod (Gadus morhua) otolith morphology and calcium carbonate deposition
Coll-Lladó, C., Mittermayer, F., Webb, P. B., Allison, N., Clemmesen, C., Stiasny, M., Bridges, C., Gottler, G. & Garcia de la Serrana Castillo, D., 28 Sept 2021, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Fish Physiology and Biochemistry. First Online, 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review