University Marine Biological Station Millport
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Professor Jim Atkinson
Emeritus Professor
Research interests
Recent and current research includes: aspects of fisheries ecology, particularly crustacean fisheries; ecological studies to ground-truth fishery-independent methods of stock assessment (TV and larval survey methods) for application to the Nephrops norvegicus (in Scottish and Mediterranean waters) and Squilla mantis (Mediterranean) fisheries; investigation of the impact of a parasitic dinoflagellate (Hematodinium sp.) on UK Nephrops stocks; investigation of discards associated with the Nephrops fishery; investigation of the sustainability of creel fishing for Nephrops; investigation of the influence of fishing, handling and storage practices in the Nephrops fishery on product quality; investigation of the environmental impacts of a range of fishing gear; bioturbation studies in coastal sediments, including the general biology, behaviour and ecophysiology of megafaunal bioturbating species, and quantification of sediment and solute flux rates; and investigation of the biology of temperate and tropical burrowing species, mainly crustaceans. Many of these programmes have involved collaboration with EU partners.
Have supervised or co-supervised around 30 Ph.D. students researching various aspects of shellfish and fish biology, mostly related to fisheries.
Selected recent publications
Albalat, A., Gornik, S.G., Mullen, W., Crozier, A., Atkinson, R.J.A., Coombs, G.H. & Neil, D.M. (2011) Quality changes in chilled Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) tail meat and the effects of delayed icing. International Journal of Food Science and Technology, 46: 1443–1421. doi: doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.2011.02650.x
Hamilton, K.M., Tew, I.F., Atkinson, R.J.A. & Roberts, E.C. (2011) Occurrence of the parasitic genus Hematodinium (Alveolata: Syndinea) in the water column. The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, 58: 446–451. doi: 10.1111/j.1550-7408.2011.00570.x
Gornik, S.G., Albalat, A., Atkinson, R.J.A., Coombs, G.H. & Neil, D.M. (2010) The influence of defined ante-mortem stressors on the early post-mortem biochemical processes in the abdominal muscle of the Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus (Linnaeus, 1758). Marine Biology Research, 6: 223–238. doi: 10.1080/17451000903147468
Pinn, E.H. & Atkinson, R.J.A. (2010) Burrow development, nutrient fluxes, carnivory and caching behaviour by Calocaris macandreae (Crustacea: Decapoda: Thalassinidea). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 90: 247–253. doi: 10.1017/S002531540999066X
Albalat, A., Gornik, S.G., Atkinson, R.J.A., Coombs, G.H. & Neil, D.M. (2009) Effect of capture method on the physiology and nucleotide breakdown products in the Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus). Marine Biology Research, 5: 441–450. doi: 10.1080/17451000802603637
Gornik, S., Albalat, A., Atkinson, R.J.A., Coombs, G.H. & Neil, D.M. (2009) Biochemical investigations into the absence of rigor mortis in the Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 373: 58–65. doi: 10.1016/j.jembe.2009.03.004
Milligan, R.J., Albalat, A., Atkinson, R.J.A. & Neil, D.M. (2009) The effects of trawling on the physical condition of the Norway lobster Nephrops norvegicus in relation to seasonal cycles in the Clyde Sea area. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 488–494. doi: 10.1093/icesjms/fsp018
Morello, E.B., Antolini, B., Gramitto, M.E., Atkinson, R.J.A. & Froglia, C. (2009) The fishery for Nephrops norvegicus (Linnaeus, 1758) in the central Adriatic Sea (Italy): preliminary observations comparing bottom trawls and baited creels. Fisheries Research, 95: 325–331. doi: 10.1016/j.fishres.2008.10.002
Adey, J.M., Smith, I.P., Tuck, I.D., Atkinson, R.J.A. & Taylor, A.C. (2008) ‘Ghost fishing’ of target and non-target species by Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) creels. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 366: 119–127. doi: 10.3354/meps07520
Gornik, S.G., Albalat, A., Atkinson, R.J.A., G.H., C. & Neil, D.M. (2008) The time course of early post-mortem biochemical processes in the abdominal muscle of a commercially important decapod crustacean (Nephrops norvegicus): implications for post-catch processing. Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology, 41: 214–256. doi: 10.1080/10236240802500758
Ridgway, I.D., Small, H.J., Atkinson, R.J.A., H.T., B., Taylor, A.C. & Neil, D.M. (2008) Extracellular proteases and possible disease related virulence mechanisms of two marine bacteria implicated in an opportunistic bacterial infection of Nephrops norvegicus. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 99: 14–19. doi: 10.1016/j.jip.2008.05.007