Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton

Cathy Lucas

BSc, PhD

Primary position:
Lecturer in Marine Biology

Background

BSc (Hons) Zoology, Swansea University (1988)
PhD Marine biology, University of Southampton (1993)
Teaching Fellow, University of Southampton (1993)
Post-doctoral fellowship, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, USA (1994)
Post-doctoral research fellow (1995-2002)
Temporary Lecturer, University of Southampton (2002 - 2004)
Lecturer, University of Southampton (2005 - present)

Dr Cathy Lucas's photo

Publications

The University of Southampton's electronic library (e-prints)

Article

FitzGeorge-Balfour, Tania, Hirst, Andrew G., Lucas, C.H., Craggs, Jamie, Whelan, Emma J. and Mombrikotb, S. (2013) Estimating digestion time in gelatinous predators - a methodological comparison with the scyphomedusa Aurelia aurita. Marine Biology, 160, (4), 793-804. (doi:10.1007/s00227-012-2134-z).
Condon, R.H., Duarte, C.M., Pitt, K.A., Robinson, K.L., Lucas, C.H., Sutherland, K.R., Mianzan, H.W., Bogeberg, M., Purcell, J.E., Decker, M.B., Uye, S.-i., Madin, L.P., Brodeur, R.D., Haddock, S.H.D., Malej, A., Parry, G.D., Eriksen, E., Quinones, J., Acha, M., Harvey, M., Arthur, J.M. and Graham, W.M. (2013) Recurrent jellyfish blooms are a consequence of global oscillations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110, (3), 1000-1005. (doi:10.1073/pnas.1210920110).
Webster, Clare N. and Lucas, Cathy H. (2012) The effects of food and temperature on settlement of Aurelia aurita planula larvae and subsequent somatic growth. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 436-437, 50-55. (doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2012.08.014).
Condon, Robert H, Graham, William M, Duarte, Carlos M, Pitt, Kylie A, Lucas, Cathy H., Haddock, Steven H, Sutherland, Kelly R, Robinson, Kelly L, Dawson, Michael N, Decker, Mary Beth, Mills, Claudia E, Purcell, Jennifer E, Malej, Alenka, Mianzan, Hermes, Uye, Shin-Ichi, Gelcich, Stefan and Madin, Laurence (2012) Questioning the rise of gelatinous zooplankton in the World's oceans. BioScience, 62, (2), 160-169. (doi:10.1525/bio.2012.62.2.9).
Lucas, Cathy H., Graham, William M. and Widmer, Chad (2012) Jellyfish Life Histories: Role of Polyps in Forming and Maintaining Scyphomedusa Populations. Advances in Marine Biology, 63, 133-196. (doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-394282-1.00003-X).
Duarte, Carlos M., Pitt, Kylie A. and Lucas, C.H. et al. (2012) Is global ocean sprawl a cause of jellyfish blooms? Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 10pp. (doi:10.1890/110246).
Lucas, C.H., Pitt, K.A., Purcell, J.E., Lebrato, M and Condon, R.H. (2011) What's in a jellyfish? Proximate and elemental composition and biometric relationships for use in biogeochemical studies. Ecology, 92, (8), 1704. (doi:10.1890/11-0302.1).
Lucas, Cathy H. and Reed, Adam J. (2009) Gonad morphology and gametogenesis in the deep-sea jellyfish Atolla wyvillei and Periphylla periphylla (Scyphozoa: Coronatae) collected from Cape Hatteras and the Gulf of Mexico. [in special issue: In Honour of Sir Frederick Stratten Russell, FRS] Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 90, (6), 1095-1104. (doi:10.1017/S0025315409000824).
Lucas, Cathy H. and Reed, Adam J. (2009) Observations on the life histories of the narcomedusae Aeginura grimaldii , Cunina peregrina and Solmissus incisa from the western North Atlantic. Marine Biology, 156, (3), 373-379. (doi:10.1007/s00227-008-1089-6).
Lucas, Cathy H. (2009) Biochemical composition of the mesopelagic coronate jellyfish Periphylla periphylla from the Gulf of Mexico. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 89, (1), 77-81. (doi:10.1017/S0025315408002804).
Friend, P.L., Lucas, C.H., Holligan, P.M. and Collins, M.B. (2008) Microalgal mediation of ripple mobility. Geobiology, 6, (1), 70-82. (doi:10.1111/j.1472-4669.2007.00108.x).
Holeton, C.L., Nedelec, F., Sanders, R., Brown, L., Moore, C.M., Stevens, D.P., Heywood, K.J., Statham, P.J. and Lucas, C.H. (2006) Physiological state of phytoplankton communities in the southwest Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean, as measured by fast repetition rate fluorometry. Polar Biology, 29, (1), 44-52. (doi:10.1007/s00300-005-0028-y).
Neumeier, U., Lucas, C.H. and Collins, M. (2006) Erodibility and erosion patterns of mudflat sediments investigated using an annular flume. Aquatic Ecology, 40, (4), 543-554. (doi:10.1007/s10452-004-0189-8).
Friend, P.L., Lucas, C.H. and Rossington, S.K (2005) Day-night variation of cohesive sediment stability. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science, 64, (2-3), 407-418. (doi: 10.1016/j.ecss.2005.03.006).
Smythe-Wright, D., Boswell, S.M., Lucas, C.H., New, A.L. and Varney, M.S. (2005) Halocarbon and dimethyl sulphide production around the Mascarene Plateau. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A, 363, (1826), 169-185. (doi:10.1098/rsta.2004.1485).
Widdows, J., Blauw, A., Heip, C.H.R., Herman, P.M.J., Lucas, C.H., Middelburg, J.J., Schmidt, S., Brinsley, M.D., Twisk, F. and Verbeek, H. (2004) Role of physical and biological processes in sediment dynamics of a tidal flat in Westerschelde Estuary, SW Netherlands. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 274, 41-56. (doi:10.3354/meps274041).
Lucas, Cathy H., Widdows, John and Hall, Lauri (2003) Relating spatial and temporal variability in sediment chlorophyll a and carbohydrate distribution with erodibility of a tidal flat. Estuaries, 26, (4), 885-893. (doi:10.1007/BF02803347).
Brown, Louise, Sanders, Richard, Savidge, Graham and Lucas, Cathy H. (2003) The uptake of silica during the spring bloom in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. Limnology and Oceanography, 48, (5), 1831-1845.
Steyaert, M., Vanaverbeke, J., Vanreusel, A., Barranguet, C., Lucas, C. and Vincx, M. (2003) The importance of fine-scale, vertical profiles in characterising nematode community structure. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 58, (2), 353-366. (doi:10.1016/S0272-7714(03)00086-6).
Lucas, C.H. (2003) Observations of resuspended diatoms in the turbid tidal edge. Journal of Sea Research, 50, (4), 301-308. (doi:10.1016/j.seares.2003.04.001).
Lucas, Cathy H., Banham, Clare and Holligan, Patrick M. (2001) Benthic-pelagic exchange of microalgae at a tidal flat. 2: taxonomic analysis. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 212, 39-52. (doi:10.3354/meps212039).
Widdows, J., Brinsley, M.D., Salkeld, P.N. and Lucas, C.H. (2001) Influence of biota on spatial and temporal variation in sediment erodability and material flux on a tidal flat (Westerschelde, The Netherlands). Marine Ecology - Progress Series, 194, 23-27. (doi:10.3354/meps194203).
Lucas, C.H. (2001) Reproduction and life history strategies of the common jellyfish, Aurelia aurita, in relation to its ambient environment. Hydrobiologia, 451, (1-3), 229-246. (doi: 10.1023/A:1011836326717).
Lucas, C.H., Widdows, J., Brinsley, M.D., Salkeld, P.N. and Herman, P.M.J. (2000) Benthic-pelagic exchange of microalgae at a tidal flat: 1. Pigment analysis. Marine Ecology - Progress Series, 196, 59-73.
Herman, P.M.J., Middelburg, J.J., Widdows, J., Lucas, C.H. and Heip, C.H.R. (2000) Stable isotopes as trophic tracers: combining field sampling and manipulative labelling of food resources for macrobenthos. Marine Ecology - Progress Series, 204, 79-92. (doi:10.3354/meps204079).
 

Research

Research Interests

Specialisms: Gelatinous zooplankton; Tidal flat dynamics; HPLC

I have a broad interest in coastal and estuarine processes, in particular the interaction between biological communities and the environment, and how ecosystems function and respond to change. My main research focus is the biology and ecological role of jellyfish in pelagic food webs, in particular studies of the population dynamics, trophic impact and reproductive biology of UK species. Current research projects are focusing on the magnitude, causes and consequences of jellyfish blooms around the globe; polyp ecology and the roles of asexual and sexual reproduction in forming and maintaining jellyfish populations; phenotypic differences between populations of Aurelia; causes of, and problems associated with jellyfish stranding on beaches; and the macro-ecology of mesopelagic jellyfish.

Current funded research projects:
Hirst AG & Lucas CH (2009 – 2012) Copepod sex ratio dynamics: the role of predators and food. NERC Standard grant.

Condon RH, Duarte CM, Graham WM et al. (2009 – 2011) Global expansion of jellyfish blooms: magnitude, causes and consequences. National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), UC Santa Barbara, via NSF funding.

 

Jellywatch

The jellywatch website http://www.jellywatch.org/blooms  contains further links to the global jellyfish blooms project, which includes an online newsletter, project updates and the YouTube video of the Jellyfish ROCK public outreach event hosted by the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

Primary research group:  Ocean Biogeochemistry and Ecosystems

Responsibilities

Reviewer on biology/ecology panel for the Norwegian Research Council (2009-2011)

Teaching Responsibilities

SOES1006 Introduction to Marine Ecology (1st year) - module co-ordinator
SOES6052 Tropical Marine Biology, including residential fieldtrip to Bermuda (4th year) - contributor
SOES6013 Introduction to Biological Oceanography (MSc) - contributor
Key skills / tutorials (1st and 2nd year)

Contact

Dr Cathy Lucas
Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton
University of Southampton Waterfront Campus
European Way
Southampton SO14 3ZH
United Kingdom

Room Number: NOCS/566/02

Telephone: (023) 8059 6617
Email: cathy.lucas@noc.soton.ac.uk